Because it's Christmas
by Valledorthedragon
Summary: Merry Christmas! A series of presents for the holiday season feel free to ask for a request and I'll write it for you
1. Chapter 1

MERRY CHRISTMAS!^^

Before the stories, I want to explain what this is so please read:

okay so basically a while ago I sent a pm to all my fave peeps here, asking them to send me a story idea and I'd make it for them as a Christmas gift from me to them^^

So this is the collection of them all- I'll be adding them as I write them. Whether the story was written for you or not, please enjoy them^^

Ooh and if you haven't sent me an idea and you want to see made into a story for Christmas, I am still open!^^ feel free to ask- this is for all you readers out there (my personal thank you to you all for Christmas^^)

Just tell me your idea in a review and I'll get onto it as soon as I can (please make them short/ oneshot ideas-, I don't want them too long so I have time to write them all)^^ it can be any one, combination or all of the big four and/or frozen^^

And last thing- they will NOT be as long as this first one, this person sent me an essay to write and I completely went overboard (you know who you are- don't worry I had a blast writing it XD) Most will be around medium oneshot length^^

That's it! Enjoy!

Ooh and once again MERRY CHRISTMAS!


	2. Chapter 2

One last Christmas- for I'm the lonely life

You've been told you could have less than a year to live. What do you do? Get out your bucket list? Do all the things you've always wanted to do? Make the most of what life you have left? No. He spent his working.

He struggled though long, hard hours of labour every day to keep him and his little sister living a half decent lifestyle. But it wasn't really for him- it was all for her. He put himself under daily stress, and long, endless hours away from her , so that she could carry on living the way she does now.

It wasn't like he hated working at Guardians Toy Store (and factory)- actually enjoyed it most of the time- but this close to Christmas the hours got longer, the workload harder, and every day he came home more and more drained... and worse, it stole away his limited time- time he longed to be spending with his little sister. She was all he had left.

Their parents had died in a freak car accident- slipping on cold winter ice, and then passing away on a hospital bed hours later. He'd begged them not to go... but still they left... Now there was just Emma.

He had to look after her- like he'd promised. His parents last words had been 'look after Emma'... And he'd nodded tearfully, saying that he would. Then they left them. Now it was just the two of them, alone, against the world... and then he'd got the news. A single diagnosis that had ruined everything- just when he was starting to think things were going to get better.

Cancer. Lung cancer, to be precise- and the type they couldn't cure, even if it wasn't too far advanced to do anything about it.

He was living on borrowed time, and yet he had to spend it working to ensure the best for Emma. But he had no idea what else to do for her... What happened when he was gone? Who would look after her? He was not going to let her go down to the orphanage- first her parents, then her brother, and she gets dumped in a strange place full of strangers that didn't even know her? No. He wouldn't let that happen. Not to Emma. He'd find a way... He had to.

He sighed as he pulled out the house key, and struggled to find the lock. His fingers fumbled with the key and it fell out of his hand. He sighed, growled slightly at the sky. Sometimes he thought the world hated him. He'd been left looking after Emma, providing for the both of them- paying bills, putting food on the table- basically living like a single parent at the age of eighteen... and then he finds out he's terminal.

He picked up the key again and went to try again.. only to realise the door was already unlocked. He frowned- he always locked the door, and there was no sign of forced entry- who'd left it-? A slow smile spread across his face. Of course- who else?

He pushed the door open, closing and locking it behind him. Home at last. He trapped his boots under each foot, eventually pulling his feet free of the shoes- and leaving his socks behind too whilst he was at it (he always did prefer being barefoot). As he tugged off his coat, he heard muffled, animated talking from the other side of the small flat. He could even make out explosion sound effects and roars in the midst of the lively chatter. Looks like they were playing dragons again- big surprise. Hiccup loved playing with the winged, stuffed toys as much as Emma did- although he always seemed to insist that he was too manly for that kind of thing (he went along with it- he knew better).

He grinned as he listened, sneaking through the hall (still holding his coat), until he was just outside the living room. He could hear the noises much louder now. There was an intense battle of the fuzzy kind going on in there, as plush dragon fought plush dragon to see who was superior. He peeked in- both of them had their backs to him, completely oblivious to the fact he was there. Perfect.

He burst in through the door, throwing out his coat like giant wings.

"And then the feriocious Jack dragon came in and defeated them all!" He declared, trapping them under his freezing cold coat, prompting squeals, giggles and protests from from the two. He wriggled about, roaring, as they struggled to get free, keeping them trapped underneath his fabric wings for a moment, before mercifully letting them go.

The second he released them, Emma tackled him- trapped him in her own arms.

"You're home!" She exclaimed, clinging to him like a limpet. He clung back.

"Hey, Em." He grinned. "I missed you." She grinned back.

"I missed you more." She retorted, smiling broadly. Oh, she had no idea, he thought, somehow maintaining this smile.

She didn't know yet. He hadn't told her. How was he supposed to tell her tell her the big brother who was all she had left now was doomed to die like their parents had? He couldn't bring himself to say it- not to that little face- she was just too innocent. How could he leave this beautiful little girl all alone... And who would look after her when he... when he, well... when he went the same way as their mom and dad.

"The Jack dragon?" The older playmate queried. Jack grinned again.

"Very dangerous- famous for merciless hugging." He joked. Hiccup chuckled, and stood to put the kettle on- not like any of them liked coffee or tea (they were way too immature for all that), but hot chocolate? That was something they could all enjoy.

Hiccup was a lifesaver- he honestly didn't know what he'd do without him. He checked in on Emma from time to time, and picked her up from school whenever he couldn't make it (it got to the point where the teachers thought Hiccup was the brother, and he was the friend). He doubt he could've managed without him. Knowing Emma was safe with a friend was a great comfort on his mind- and having someone to talk to after a long day of work did him wonders... He also didn't know about his... condition... but it was nice, their talks... for a while he could pretend everything was normal- and he wasn't going to die at some point over the next year.

Him and Emma knew him through their parents being friends with his mom and dad, Stoick and Valka (strange names, but it was an time honoured tradition for their family, tying their names to their Nordic roots). Emma called them auntie and uncle- and, even though they were actually their godparents, they were as close to family as they got, outside of themselves. They were also their landlords. They'd bought this place for them, and Jack insisted on paying rent like any other resident. He always refused to pay any less than what the flat should be earning, and he was always reluctant to impose on them, but sometimes, when work was particularly bad, Emma would stay there for the afternoon- and even then if it was the only option. Because of them, they have a place of their own, and Jack couldn't be more grateful for it. 'You've done enough for us' he always insisted when they offered to do more 'and besides, me and Emma were fine'... that last part wasn't entirely true, but he was the only one who knew that.

As he heard the kettle get clicked on in the next rom, he turned his attention back to Emma.

"So, what'd ya do at school today?" He asked. Her eyes lit up at the question, and she dashed to the other side of the room to retrieve her bag. He took the opportunity to throw his coat on a nearby chair. He always felt like he had to make up for being away from her for so long and he lavished all his attention on her whenever he was home- asking her about school was just one way of doing that.

She came back, dragging her school bag, then started rooting through its contents. But just before she could get her books out, the door rustled and the rattle and thump of falling paper sounded from the letterbox. He sighed.

"Hold on- be back in a tic." He promised. He rushed to the door quickly, like he knew each step was wasting precious time with her.

He quickly riffled through the post- bill, bill, leaflet, bill, letter from the doctor... He froze on that one.

Tense dread and anticipation dropped heavily in his stomach... He slowly ripped his finger along the top of the letter... pulled out the slip of paper... and unfolded it. He skimmed the text, wincing inwardly whenever he encountered that six letter word. It was a list of proposed medication for reducing symptoms and side effects, slowing the progression of the disease etc. The confusing medicine names with too many consonants meant nothing to him, but he knew it would be important later. At the bottom of the page was an appointment where he could get the meds prescribed.

He wandered back into the living room, putting the letters, and the paper of doom, down on a side table. He could worry about that later, right now this was their time- his and Emma's... and it was almost time for her to go to bed. She was already sat in the pink butterfly pyjamas- he had to make this time count.

"Nothing important." He reassured her, with a careless air about him as he rejoined her on the floor. Hiccup came back in with the hot chocolates as Emma got out her first book- she completely ignored the hot drink in favour of showing him her neat, in-between-the-lines handwriting, and colourful, swirly mindmaps. Jack couldn't help smiling as she chattered on about her subjects- which teachers had given her a stamp and a gold star for her work, and which she didn't like too much. She showed him through her day from her neat English work, to the dreaded maths and boring geography. Her art was adorable- and he was just as proud of her as ever, but he wasn't really looking at her work... he was watching her.

Her face... the way she jabbed her finger about the page as she showed him everything she could, the way her eyes lit up with every little anecdote, and the way her nose would scrunch up at the boring subjects... She really was the best little sister he could ever ask for... She deserved so much better than the mediocre lifestyle, and slivers of time he could give her. But he was doing the best he could. That's why he had to stay away from her for so long- even though it broke his heart to do so. It was to keep a smile on her face. The time they spent together wasn't enough for either of them, and the hard hours he worked drained every last bit of energy out of him, but when he saw the grin on her face when he got back home... it made it all worth it.

Eventually, she put away her books but she wasn't done- she pulled out a sheet of paper, probably a drawing she'd done whilst at the after school club she stayed at until either Hiccup or him came to pick her up. It was a little crumpled from being in her bag, but she still presented it to him with a big beam on her face.

"I made this for you." She grinned, thrusting it eagerly into his hands.

Two recantangle bodies- one tall, one short- with stick legs and brick boots sticking out the bottom. Twiggy arms and sausage finger hands overlapped in the middle and swung out on the outside. Bright pink, circle heads with big, red lipped smiles and big, long noses sat atop each rectangle. One of them had big, blue dot eyes and scribbled, spiky, grey hair standing up on the top of it, the other with deep, brown dot eyes and straight brown scribble lines in an upside down 'U' around the head.

The sight melted his heart... It was beautiful.

"I couldn't find any white," she explained, "so I had to use grey instead." She told him, apologetically. The white hair was something he did a while back- homage to his wintery surname of 'Frost' (Emma wanted to do the same, but he told her she had to wait until she was old enough). But the grey pencil didn't matter to him- whether it was grey, green or purple, the drawing was perfect to him... He loved it.

He dragged her into a hug, rubbing her arm as he whispered into her ear.

"Its beautiful, Em... Thank you." He planted a kiss on the top of her head, as she beamed at the praise.

Although he didn't want to, he forced his eyes to look at the clock... Twenty to nine- they were already ten minutes past her bedtime. That time already?... He reluctantly let go of her.

"Time for bed." He told her, sadly.

She looked up at him eyes wided- mouth agape in protest.

"Noo!" She wailed. He couldn't meet her pleading, chocolate brown eyes. Please don't make this harder than it is, he thought. He so desperately wanted to spend more time with her- to stay up, play a few games together, anything- but she had school tommorow, she needed the sleep. A part of him wanted to tell the school and his work they were sick so they could spend a whole day together, but he forced himself to refuse the idea.

Both of the siblings looked to Hiccup for help. Jack couldn't do this himself- he couldn't be firm with her when he was fighting own will as well. Their friend looked nervous at decision being forced into his hands. Please, Jack thought, just tell her- I'll have her up all night otherwise. The brunette's eyes looked away from their own, as his brain struggled to find a solution- then the mental light bulb flicked on.

"Well, erm- Emma's not finished her hot chocolate yet, so she could finish that and then go to bed." He suggested.

It was hard to say who looked more relieved at the extra time- just like it was hard to say who was drinking their hot chocolate the slowest to try and prolong that time as much as possible. Jack even got out a storybook they were taking so long, and read to her as they sipped their not 'very hot anymore' chocolates. They would've watched TV, if it wasn't a luxury they couldn't afford, but he preffered the book anyway. It gave him the opportunity to let her sit on his lap as he read her the stories she'd heard a thousand times.

He deliberately over exaggerated every word, Emma mouthing along with him. She giggled at the bits she always giggled at- and together they ended it the way they always: by saying those closing in unison- 'the end'. But by the time those last words were spoken, they realised her cup was empty. It was time for her to go to bed.

She still protested, of course- she wanted as badly as he did for them to spend more time together- but since she'd already had her extra time, she agreed to brush her teeth. Minutes later, after a quick check to make sure she'd brushed her teeth properly for the Tooth Fairy, he carried her into their room. Her arms linked around his neck, as he carried his little limpet across the hall to their shared bedroom (he could never resist when she asked him for a piggy back). Then, with a final tuck in, and goodnight kiss (to both her and the toy dragon Hiccup had got her for her last birthday), he finally found himself stood beside the light switch of the much darker room.

He watched the lump under the covers settle and lie still.

"Goodnight Emma." He whispered- more to himself than anything- as he pulled the door shut.

He sighed softly as he leaned against the wall. He really wished it wasn't so hard. He wished they could spend more than twenty minutes together every night- he wanted more time! More time to love her, and hold her, and play with her... before-. He stopped himself there. Time was the one thing he didn't have. It was trickling through his hands like sand, and he couldn't do anything about it. He was helpless. But he had to stay strong... for her. Everything had become a chore- the whole world was working against him, and sometimes it almost broke him... But, no matter what happened, he had to force on a smile and carry on- for Emma.

But it was tearing him apart.

I can't keep this up, a part of him despaired. But you have to, another part countered. Its just too much! He wailed again. Just man up! You've got no choice! You have to put up with it- for Emmas sake! He told himself, using the same age old excuse that had him bottling up his heartache since his parent's died to get him through. He was just barely eighteen... He couldn't cope with all this... But he couldn't not cope with it. Emma needed him... Emma needed him. For Emma. For Emma. The words repeated themselves in his head, as slowly he managed to exert some control on himself- chaining his emotions, locking them away, and throwing away the key.

He took a deep breath... He was okay. He was just fine... Maybe if kept telling himself that he might find a way to make it true.

He walked back into the living room, another fake smile shoved onto his face, when he saw Hiccup stood in the living room... in his hand was the unfolded, formal document that he'd stupidly left out in the open.

The younger teen's eyes were shining as he turned and saw him in the doorway. At the sight of his face, Jack felt his heart lurch, but he tightened the leash on his emotions. He was fine. He was in control. He wasn't going to fall apart- he was fine. He was strong! Like as if saying it made a stone fortress out of paper.

He carried on into the room, not sure what to say... because what was there to say? 'Surprise?' He slumped onto the couch, unsure if he was getting comfortable for the conversation, or trying to avoid it.

"Is it true?" Hiccup whispered. No- he forged that letter as some kind of sick, twisted joke... That was the casual response he wanted to shrug the question off with, but he suddenly didn't trust himself to speak.

His heart was beating like he was sprinting at the strain of his emotions trying to break free of their chains. Keep it together. In control. I'm fine. I'm fine. I can cope. I'm strong. I'm calm. He just nodded, staring at the floor.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Hiccup muttered, weakly. Jack swallowed. Fine.. okay.. He was strong. He was fine. He shrugged in response.

"Jack." Hiccup raised his voice now, demanding an answer. His tone driving a dagger to his heart- it was the tone of an angry parent. The last thing he needed right now was to be reminded of his parents. Hewasokay. Hewasfine. Hewasokayhewasokayhewasokay. "Why didn't you tell me?" Hiccup repeated. Jack desperately searched for an answer, as he raged war to keep his well built mental walls from crumbling. He was strong. He could do this- stay calm- be strong- be brave. He could do this.

"I didn't want you to worry." He told him, flatly. Hiccup seemed at a loss for words for a moment, as he numbly sat down next to him,hiding his face under his hands for a moment, then staring down at the floor with him.

"Who else knows?" Hiccup asked, the beginnings of a break in his voice, before he too asserted some self control. "Does Emma know?" He asked.

"No- and you can't tell her." He said, quickly. Hiccup nodded his promise to keep the secret from her. Stay calm- stay calm- I'm fine- I'm fine. Just be strong. I can do this.

"Then who does know?" Hiccup asked. Jack went silent again. He was okay- he could cope- he could deal with this. Just stay calm. He was okay- he was okay. Hiccup looked at him.

"Jack." The demanding parent tone started to creep into his voice again and the chains around Jack's emotions stretched taunt- they were almost at their breaking point. No, no, he could do this- stay calm- stay calm. "Who else?" Hiccup repeated. Jack took a deep, discreet breath.

"You're the first." He murmured.

There was a short silence, then, where neither one of them knew what to say... But it was all too short for Jack, who didn't have nearly enough time to get his emotions back under control before Hiccup spoke up again.

"So, er... I guess you've only just found out then." Hiccup said, in an attempt at sounding casual. Jack tensed. No- he hadn't- he'd found out a long time ago. "When did you find out?" Hiccup muttered, fiddling with his sleeve- more to make small talk than anything. Jack looked away from him. It's okay- it's okay- I'm coping- I'm coping- I'm coping!

"'bout a month ago." He whispered, hoping he wouldn't hear it. He did.

Hiccup turned to him.

"A month?" He whispered in disbelief. "You've been sitting on this for a month, and you haven't told anyone?!" He yelled. "What about dad? You know he doesn't like you paying him to live here- and he'd be more than happy to help out with any other expenses!"

"I don't want help." Jack growled. He was trying to keep calm, but it was like trying to keep a lid on an explosion. Stay calm- he was coping- he could do this. But, he was just barely escaping shouting himself. "He's done more than enough for us." He told him. Keepcalmkeepcalmkeepcalmkeepcalm.

"And what about North? You know he'd give you easier hours if you asked- and yet you've been spending half an hour with Emma every night?! Why haven't-?!" Hiccup was pacing the floor by now, turning and shouting at him every few seconds, until he broke in.

"I don't need his help." He told him, raising his voice now. He clenched his hands to keep them from shaking. The chains around everything he'd bottled up seemed to have shrunk painfully- everything was fit to burst. He could... he could do this! He was coping! He was...

"And what about Emma?!" Hiccup shouted, the words like bullets. "What's what's going to happen to her when-?!"

"I'll find something, alright! I can do this- I'm coping!" He shouted. He could feel the links inches from breaking point.

"But you're not coping!"

I'm okay.

"Look at you!"

I'm doing fine.

"How long have you been hiding things like this?!"

I'm fine- I'm fine-fine-fine.

"You can't just keep bottling this stuff up!"

Coping. Coping. Coping.

"You have to tell me!"

Can do it. Just fine. Fine. Okay.

"I can help!"

The chains started to snap.

"You can't do this on you're own." He... He...!

"What would you're parents-?"

"YOURE NOT MY DAD!" He screamed, shaking the whole room with his outburst.

The flood was released, everything rushing out. Tears fell from broken eyes, as he collapsed to the floor. He couldn't cope... He wasn't strong enough. He wasn't calm- he couldn't do this. He wasn't okay... He just couldn't.

Heaving sobs shook his shoulders as he choked out heart wrenching, cracked words. "...Dad..." More tears fell.. "...Mom..." It was too much... He couldn't handle this anymore. He hadn't been able to mourn his parents- or come to terms with their deaths- he'd been forced to lock it all away, for Emma. Everything that he'd been through, he just kept locking away- the work hours, the stress, the reduced time with Emma... and then the diagnosis... It just suddenly became too much. He couldn't pretend anymore. His facade broke- his face shattered, mind broken.

"I want my mom!" He wept, shamelessly, curling into a ball on the floor.

Hiccup just stood there, at a loss of what to do, as his best friend broke down into a torn up mess before his eyes. He awkwardly sat down next to him, eventually- hesitantly- putting a hand on his shoulder. It wasn't enough not nearly enough comfort to the broken soul... but it was something.

"Jack?" His head snapped up to the doorway. All the yelling and shouting had woken up Emma. He stared- wide eyed, tear streaked and broken- as he saw the worry on her concerned little face. Two fresh tears ran down his face. Emma... He thought. I'm so sorry, Emma- I'm so sorry... I'm just not strong enough... not strong enough... I'm sorry... so sorry... I'm sorry mom... dad... I just can't do this...

He looked down unable to meet her eyes for shame. He just couldn't- he just... He froze as warm, cotton pyjamas pressed into his chest... strong, little arms clung to his back, as a soft curtain of brown hair brushed his chin. He didn't hesitate to tighten his own arms around her- resting his head on the top of her's, as the tears continued to fall.

He felt so guilty- so terrible for it- he was supposed to look after her, he'd promised... he'd failed them... He'd failed his mom and dad- he couldn't follow their dying wish. He was supposed to be strong for her, she shouldn't have to comfort him... But, at the same time, he needed this... He needed her tiny arms holding him tight- the comforting press of her head into his chest... He needed her comfort- he needed her. He couldn't do this alone anymore.

Then, he heard Hiccup's voice beside him.

"We're going to make things better..." He promised... And finally, he saw it. A miniscule speck of hope. The last light in the endless darkness he'd found himself lost in without even realising it. Then Hiccup told him something which had meant nothing in his own mind, but suddenly seemed to make that speck grow- and make him think that maybe, just maybe... things might get a little bit better.

"Its going to be okay."

Freezing cold air stung their faces, but they still carried on walking further away from the warmth of the heated house. Jack blew out a cloud of cool smoke, enjoying the novelty of his misty breath. He chuckled to himself.

"The Jack dragon returns." He mused. Hiccup chuckled, and blew a cloud into his ear. "Hey!" Jack protested.

"Wasn't me- it was Toothless." Hiccup denied.

"Don't go blaming the stuffed dragon." Jack retorted. "He's a good boy- staying and protecting the house whilst we're out." He defended, smirking. It was a running joke they had: Hiccup had given Emma his favourite stuffed dragon around a year ago, and they'd entertained her by pretending it was real- a joke that was still ongoing to this day.

They carried on in companionable silence for a bit, listening to the strangely euphoric crunch of snow beneath their feet. The two of them were on their own- Emma was still at school- and they were just killing time until they needed to pick her up. They'd figured they might as well walk and talk, as opposed to sit and talk, so hence the walk outside. That, and, when it came to snow, Jack was like an excitable kid and a crazed puppy rolled into one- Hiccup couldn't have stopped him going out and enjoying the crispy carpet if he'd tried.

The silence seemed to bring on a sudden calm between them, and Jack found himself musing about the future- he found himself doing that a lot recently, seeing as it was now a whole lot shorter than he thought once.

"Wonder if this is the last winter I'll ever see.." He thought aloud. Hiccup nudged him slightly as he walked along.

"It won't be. The doctors said you have around a year left- I'm sure you'll make it to the next one. We can't have our Jack Frost dying in the middle of summer, can we?" He joked, the subject that had once seemed so dark and depressing now surprisingly easy to make light of- maybe because they knew better than to waste the time moping about it.

"That would be a tragedy." Jack agreed, smiling, his soft grin turning somewhat wistful as musings of the future drifted through his mind again.

"I'll miss winter, though." He said. "In whatever heaven or hell place I end up at, I'm gonna look down and pout at everyone who gets to enjoy all this without me." He said. Hiccup couldn't quite bring himself to laugh at the comment. They'd never really talked about his actual death. The time he had before it, they spoke about often- even what happened after it-... but they never really talked about him ending up in some afterlife- the idea just seemed to make his impending death too real.

"How do you know there is something?" Hiccup questioned, somewhat skeptical to the idea of pearly gates in the sky containing all the quadrillion spirits of people that had died over the years. He wanted to think there was something, for Jack's sake, but all the same... what if there wasn't?

"Well then I'll just have to look down and pout from the nothingness." Jack decided. Hiccup couldn't help but laugh at that- the answer was just so Jack: so stupidly weird and dumb, it was ridiculous, and yet it still somehow worked in some strange, twisted logic.

Then, Hiccup felt the change in his friend, like a cloud had suddenly thickened around him. He recognised it. Jack was going all serious, impending death mode on him again- something that was happening with growing recurrence over the last week.

"It's not just winter, though... I'm gonna miss the snow, and the trees- and the bright lights that hang across them." He said, half to himself, as he looked up at the overhead lines of glowing dots linking the trees that lined the street. "I'm gonna miss the cold, and the breath clouds, and snowflakes- I'm gonna miss the mad Christmas rush at the factory. Everyone running back and forth, trying to get all the toys done- North trying organise everything; Tooth calling out orders, ticking things off her little checklist; Sandy waving as he finished another toy; Bunny scowling at me for getting in his way; even working on the shop floor... Seeing all the kid's eyes light up as I handed them their freshly boxed toys..." His eyes had acquired the glaze of the past, as he lost himself in his memories. Hiccup didn't know whether it made him happy or sad to see him like this... He supposed it was good that he was reminiscing, and thinking happily of his life, but did he have to make it sound like he could drop dead any moment?

"Most of all, though... I'm gonna miss you- you and Emma. The two of you always brighten up my day, no matter what, and.. I can't thank you, enough, for that." He told him, turned to face, eyes shining slightly. He was completely unaware of the handful of packed snow resting in his friend's glove (which he'd collected during his little speech). "Thank you, Hic, for... for everything. For finally getting me to stop bottling everything up- for getting me to ask for help with work hours, and rent money, and stuff." He thanked.

"It wasn't easy." Hiccup remembered. "You fought me every step of the way." He said, a light tease in his voice. Jack chuckled slightly.

"True, but if it hadn't been for you, I'd still be overworking myself- and I wouldn't have got to spend nearly as much of my life making the most of what time I have left." He continued. Hiccup had delayed his ambush to enjoy soak up his gratitude, but now he was starting to get really tired of his incredibly un-Jack-like Oscar speech- he'd be thanking the old woman who lives down the road in a minute. He didn't like it when he started talking like this- he didn't like having to keep reminding him he wasn't dead yet. Still, with the 'last will and testimony' this speech was turning into, it looked like he was going to have to do it again.

He shifted his grip on the snowball.

"So, yeah.. I just wanted to say thanks fo-." A soft, popping whumph cut him off as the ball of packed white broke against his back, showering him in snow crumbs.

"Cut the dramatic death scene speech, drama queen." Hiccup taunted- and then he realised what he'd just done...

Oh...

Oh shi- taki mushrooms, the gauntlet was thrown down now. What on earth was he thinking?! Well obviously he wasn't thinking- if he was, he wouldn't have challenged Jack to a snowball fight.

Oh, he was dead meat, Jack thought, a slow devil smirk sliding across his face as he turned to face Hiccup- discreetly reaching back to collect a handful of snow from the frozen car behind him.

"So you dare to challenge the master, do you?" He asked in an overly dramatic, commanding voice. Hiccup played along. "You bet I do- I'm going to steal your crown as King of the snowballs." He responded, like he they were about to enact a huge battle scene- which they were, of course. With him and Jack, there were no snowball fights- only all out snow wars, enough to make stormtroopers jealous.

"Haha! You don't stand a chance. I hope you don't think I'll go easy on you." He dramatised.

"Oh, I hope you don't." Hiccup replied, cooly.

"Well, then, I have one thing to say to you..." Jack continued, holding the pause for dramatic effect...

He whipped his hand round- striking out with his missile at the other teen. If he'd blinked, Hiccup would've missed it- as it was he had to blink anyway, as the snowball landed squarely on his nose.

"Prepare to get iced!" Jack grinned victoriously, dancing off to side before Hiccup could recover his senses- or his eyesight.

He crouched, hiding, behind a car on the opposite side of the street, silently packing another snowball. He could hear the crunch of Hiccup's boots as he moved closer.

"Oh, where could he be?" He heard him drawling. Did he really think it was going to be that simple? He slowly edged sideways round the edge of the car, as he heard his footsteps approach the opposite side. Peeking out from the back bumper, he could see Hiccup about to launch an ambush on the exact same space he'd been just seconds ago. Not bad, Hiccup, he thought, but not good enough. Jack grinned, biting his lip to keep him from laughing- this was going to be brilliant!

"You left footprints, you idiot." Hiccup informed, launching his snowball at thin air. Jack enjoyed the confusion on his face for a moment, before...

"Behind you." He called casually, throwing his own deadly missile.

Hiccup threw arms up, as it smashed against his coat.

"Oh, you-!" He grumbled, throwing a hasty attempt at a snowball at him. Jack jumped back, laughing as he avoided it, and quickly ran away.

"You are no match for the King!" He taunted, scooping up some ammo mid sprint, then turning to throw another shot at Hiccup. The teen dodged it, and threw another in retort. Jack took cover behind a bin and gathered three, small snowballs behind the safety of the rubbish. He quickly threw them in quick succession at Hiccup, giving his opponent no reprieve- the spray forced him to hide behind a tree to shield him from the attacks. Bad move.

Jack's eyes lit up with the spotting of a golden opportunity. Oh, this was just too perfect- it was practically begging to be done. He quickly packed together the hardest snowball he could, and prayed he was still in time to enact his evil plan. Yes- he was still-! Oh no. Leaping out into the open had left him exposed, and Hiccup was taking full advantage of his mistake. Jack threw his snowball with all the strength he could muster, just as Hiccup finally scored a hit.

Jack wasn't bothered, though- he'd got his revenge.

His extra tough snowball had gone completely wide of Hiccup, but it wasn't aimed at him. Dozens of snow laden branches, crisscrossed and interlinked with fairy lights, all tied together, lay right above Hiccup's head- ready to unload their burden on their unsuspecting victim. Hiccup's celebratory "yes!" turned into a yelp, as a thick shower of snow cascaded onto him.

"HA!" Jack yelled at the top of his lungs, goading the younger teen into running at him. Jack ran from he charge. Hiccup was quick, but Jack was quicker- and as he sprinted away, grabbed yet another handful of snow, ready to throw with his famously perfect aim.

They carried on like that for a while- circling each other, firing snow missiles back and forth, dodging each other's attacks- and Jack eventually found himself taking refuge behind a tree. He was chuckling euphorically to himself- only to suddenly realise how hoarse and raspy the sound was.

Then, suddenly, it was like he'd been shot.

He felt like he'd been stabbed. It was like he was trapped in a vacuum, where every attempt at sucking in air only drew in acid instead. Stabbing pains tore through chest, where he was trying to force air into his treacherous, diseased lung. He didn't even realise he was choking and hacking uncontrollably as red and black spots swarmed his vision. In a daze of pain he coughed up agonising hacks from his lungs, and looked down to see red stained snow- or was that just another wash of crimson that swept across his vision?

He heard Hiccup's voice from a million miles away.. Hiccup, he thought. How long had he dazed like this? Had it been seconds- or had it been hours? It somehow felt like both- time had melted in a furnace of agony and he couldn't distinguish the two anyone. Had he blacked out? He couldn't tell that either. All he knew was that he was struggling to breath, and his chest felt like it was rotting away.

His mind throbbed with agony as the piercing sound of sirens slowly grew in the distance...

Then he was waking up.

He didn't even know he'd fallen unconscious, but suddenly he was coming to.

It seemed like everything had just gone from an endless mash of voices, movement, poking, prodding and pain to everything being strangely calm... It felt like time had passed- and a lot of it, but he had no idea how much. He didn't even know if it was the same day- he could've been knocked out for a week and he wouldn't have known the difference.

One of his first thoughts was why was the alarm going off? Someone stop that stupid thing beeping. The next was: why was his breathing making such a weird noise? Then he recognised the beeping. It was constant- resonating with every throb in his skull... A heart monitor... So that weird noise his breath was making probably had something to do with the thing around his mouth.

When he finally came back to himself enough, he opened his eyes a tiny crack. It didn't take Einstein to figure out where he was. Hospital. He'd collapsed in agony in the middle of a snowball fight, where else would he be... His lung still burned now... Although the pain was surprisingly numbed- that'd be the painkillers he guessed. It could stop the pain, but it couldn't stop the cancer... and for whatever reason, it seemed his situation had deteriorated suddenly... So now he was here. Stuck in a bed, with tubes running from his arms- one machine breathing for him, whilst another constantly reminded him of the fact he was still alive (which he could figure out just fine by himself).

He looked around, his brain as sluggish as if he was hungover... He spotted the hunched figure sat at his bedside, hands clasped, staring at the floor.

"... Hic..cup..." He rasped, his voice weak even to his own ears- the word was so husky it could've been mistaken for him trying to clear his throat. Hiccup's head snapped up- worry lines loosening and tightening over his eyes at the same time.

"Jack!" He exclaimed quietly, worry smothering the relief in his voice.

"... Hey..." He muttered back, fighting to keep his eyes open. He must be on some ridiculously strong painkillers right now- a part of him was trying to sail off into the clouds, while the rest of him tried to stay and talk to Hiccup. "...Guess.. I didn't.. have.. 's long as.. I thought, huh.." He whispered, having to time his speech to machine's forced breathing.

Hiccup tried to hold everything back, but he felt himself tearing up- the sight in front of him was just too pitiful.. It was horrible. He choked back a sob as dropped his head.

"I'm sorry... I should've never suggested that stupid snowball fight! I should've been more careful- I should've known you couldn't handle it!" He sobbed, guilt cracking his voice.

"Hey..." Jack broke in- his attempt at talking loudly just about qualifying as a regular whisper. "If it hadn't.. been that.. it would've been.. some other.. stupid game." He pointed out. If something that trivial had set off, it would've only been a matter of time- even without the snowballs.

"I'm just glad.. Emma.. didn't have to.. see it." He thought out loud. That was something to be grateful for, at least- that Emma hadn't been there to watch him collapse, fighting for breath, literally dying right before her eyes. Emma... How was she?... He wasn't worried- he could relax knowing whatever happened while he was out, Hiccup would've seen to her, and made sure she was alright.

Of all the ways to die, though... He thought.

"There's worse.. ways to die.. than death.. by snowball." He smiled faintly, the weak joke not even twitching his friend's lip.

"I should've done something sooner- I should've stopped you working so hard. I should've done more- made you stop moving about so much- made you eat that stupid diet plan." He rambled on and on.

"I wasn't.. going to eat.. spinach." Jack told him, stubbornly. "You've done.. everything.. you could've done.. for me.. and you helped.. Emma too..." He reminded him, lifting his fingers up to reach weakly towards him. Hiccup saw the gesture, and took his outstretched hand. Jack squeezed it with what little strength he had. "Thank you." He told him, and Hiccup seemed to calm down a little. He was still weighed down by grief and guilt, but he was no longer hysterical about it.

Jack decided to take his mind off it.

"How's.. Emma?" He asked. Hiccup seemed surprised by the sudden question, but answered.

"She's fine. She's staying with my mum and dad for a bit, until... well- until we sort things out." He finished, hesitantly. He was hiding something. Jack could tell. Something about that last part was masking something big.

"How long?".. He asked. Hiccup went silent- playing dumb, even though he knew exactly what he meant. Jack tilted his head towards him a little to look at him properly. "How long.. do I have?" He repeated. Hiccup took a moment to collect himself, with a quick breath.

"The doctors say you have a week at best, before..." He told him, voice broken- he couldn't bring himself to finish...

One week? Jack thought... So soon? He'd expected a few more months... One week... Seven days... And that was the best case scenario... He guessed this really was the last winter he'd ever see...

But there was one last thing he wanted to do, before he died. He wasn't dying until he'd seen one last Christmas.

"What day's it?" He asked. Hiccup blinked in confusion.

"Thursday." He answered. Jack smirked, painfully slowly, at his own stupidity.

"What date?" He corrected, trying again.

"Oh." Hiccup muttered, not even needing to check a calendar- no one ever did this time of year. "The nineteenth." He replied.

Jack closed his eyes and thought... Six days... He could last that long. He was not going until he had one more Christmas. One final celebration of joy, and gifts, and magic... Before it all ends.

"I'm going.. to make it.." He told him. "One.. last.. Christmas." He promised... And then he could go happily. Hiccup didn't reply- but Jack knew his silence was only hiding the turmoil of emotions running rampant through his head; the only reason he was so calm was because he was high on some kind of morphine.

He kept his eyes closed, and let his thoughts drift... It was so tiring to stay awake...

"What would you want?" Seconds or maybe minutes had passed since the last words were spoken, when Hiccup's voice brought him back to reality.

"...Huh?.." He questioned, misting up his breath mask- he hadn't heard him properly.

"One last Christmas." Hiccup repeated. "...What would you want?" Jack thought about it, but he didn't really need to think. He knew what he wanted, deep down.

It wouldn't be worth buying him something, he was going to die anyway. No, what he wanted was something simple, but at the same time so complicated.

"I want Emma.. to be safe... and.. I want her.. to be.. happy." He told him, thinking of his dear little sister- the light of his life... He needed to know someone was going to look after her when he was gone- he needed to know she was going to be alright. He couldn't pass on with his mind at rest- not until she knew she was in good hands.

Hiccup went silent again, this time deep in thought... But the silence was so long, and drugs were so heavy... They kept dragging him deeper and deeper into the haze of sleep... He heard one final thing before he drifted off.

"I promise... I'll make sure she's safe."


	3. Chapter 3

One last Christmas - continued...

... Was anyone here yet?...

No.

Sleep...

Anyone here now?

...Nope.

Back to sleep...

Is anybody here... now?

No...

Okay- sleep...

There has to be someone now.

Seriously? Darn it!

Well, off to sleep again.

That was pretty much what Christmas Eve was like for him. He'd told himself not to wake up properly until Emma came and woke him- which was annoying, because visitor hours only started at ten, and he was reaally impatient and immature when it came to Christmas. It wasn't hard to keep dropping off into sleep- the near constant flow of painkillers and all kinds of drugs made it easy to doze off again- but it didn't seem to be making time pass any quicker...

How about now!...

No...

Where were they?!

He sighed mentally.. Back to sleep again...

...

"...Jack..."

Hey, that was Emma... Wait- was this it?! Was this finally it?! A broad, childish grin lit up his face before his eyes had even opened. Christmas! Yes!

He opened his eyes, only to be assaulted with an explosion of sparkles, colour, people and noise.

"Merry Christmas!" About half a dozen voices called out- half a dozen?! He was expecting two! (Well, maybe four if Stoick and Valka showed up, but this was way more than he thought there'd be). What in the name of Toothless was going-... On?

He looked round... No way... North?... Tooth?... Everyone was-! He didn't know if could laugh with the machine breathing for him, but he gave it a good go- eyes shining as he grinned broadly at everyone.

They were all here! They'd all come! How-? He noticed Hiccup's bashful smile, as he stood, smiling, at one side... He'd invited them?... He'd brought together all his friends... to spend his last Christmas with him- and not only that, they came! They'd willingly given up their own Christmas plans to come to this now definitely cramped hospital room... All to wish him merry Christmas... He was touched. Everyone (almost everyone) was dressed in festive wear that matched the decor-wait, decor? They'd even-?

He looked round the room- strings of lights and shiny paper were strung across the walls, a beautifully decorated trees stood proudly in the corner, and a wreath hung on the back of the door... All this was for him?... He was honestly lost for words- unable to do anything but gawp and grin... Until Emma charged into him.

She gently dove her head into his side reached across the bed to give him a half hug. Now his Christmas was complete. The best gift he could ever ask for- his beautiful little sister.

She was like some kind of miracle medicine: within ten seconds of her first visit, he'd managed to lean up and wrap an arm around her- neither of which he was supposed to be able to do, but somehow could because she was there.

He ran a hand through her hair, his beaming smile not leaving him for a second.

"Hey Em!" He grinned, returning the hug as best he could. He grinned over her shoulder at the people behind her. "And look who came all the way from the North Pole." He smirked, looking at North's Santa suit he'd no doubt borrowed from his time in the grotto. "Santa and his two elves." He said. Tooth and Sandy hadn't gone as overboard as North had, but they were still in knitted Christmas jumpers, with festive headbands on their heads. He wasn't surprised North was in the Santa suit- he looked forwards to this part of his job all year, and he really was the perfect Santa doppelgänger, (with his big, white beard, and jolly nature- the red coat just completed the look). But there was one person he hadn't yet addressed from the toy making superstore. The only person in the room who wasn't in festive wear (and even on death's door, he'd still managed to wear festive gear for the holiday season).

"Who invited the grinch?" He teased, smirking at his rival.

The grey haired Australian was in unusually unchristmassy clothes- he always insisting Easter was much better (for some reason)- but it looked someone had forced a pair of reindeer antlers onto their Scrooge, at least. All Jack could think of was how much the antlers looked like ears- he could even get away with saying he looked like an angry bunny! He struggled not to laugh at the thought- the Australian had been given the nickname Bunny since before he even worked at the place. A little kid had announced to almost the whole shop that the hand detailer (or painter to normal people) looked like his stuffed rabbit, and he'd been stuck with the name ever since.

"Ha ha." He drawled. "Don't make me snap that Bane mask on your face." He warned with a slight smirk. Jack chuckled- he'd gotten a new ventilator mask which left his mouth free so he could speak without sounding like Darth Vader, but still reminded him of Batman's arch nemesis. Although, he almost missed the Vader mask- he'd enjoyed inventing new Star Wars episodes with Princess Emma Leia and Hiccup Skywalker (starring Toothless as Yoda).

"But I need this to breathe." He said, putting on his best Bane voice- not one of his best ones, but it made them laugh at least. North laughing the loudest (big guy, big laugh, they always said- often replacing 'laugh' with pretty much anything).

"Time for presents!" North announced, obviously unable to wait any longer. He slung a big toy sack off his shoulder (he always did go overboard with the whole Santa act) and dropped it on the bed- only to have Emma push it off.

"Mine first! Mine first!" She begged, shoving a parcel right under Jack's nose.

The look on North's face as his presents got pushed aside was priceless, but he managed to laugh it off. Jack turned his attention to Emma's gift- it looked like she'd done the wrapping herself, he noticed, she was getting pretty good.

She watched him intently, as he (deliberately) slowly peeled back some of the wrapping paper.

"I'm surprised I even got anything." He joked. "I thought I was top of the naughty list." He remembered, thinking of the two giant, magnetic boards in the shop that looked like scrolls- Bunny had written Jack's name right at the top where nobody could reach (he just took it as a compliment).

Bunny snickered like he was hiding something at the comment, but didn't say anything. Jack didn't pursue it- he'd find out what that snicker was about sooner or later- and carried on pulling back one, tiny strip of paper inch by inch...

"Faster!" Emma demanded, jumping up and down with contained excitement. He chuckled and tore the whole thing off, revealing a whole collection of handmade gifts she'd made at school over the past few weeks.

There was a painting of three different sized and coloured blobs (her, Jack and Hiccup's heads) set in a frame with an explosion of glitter surrounding it; a string of colourful, Christmassy beads on a long piece of string; a polystyrene cup decorated like a penguin; a paper plate Angel; and self made and decorated Christmas card in that neat, little handwriting she was so proud of.

All of it was as beautiful and priceless as diamonds to him- he loved every last little gift. Like the big brother he was, he made a massive show over each, individual object- cooing and marvelling over them- cracking a joke, or making funny comments whenever he could- making her beam with joy. She'd laugh at her daft brother's silliness- jokingly slammed her head into him whenever he'd say or do something stupid, but he knew she loved it.

Then, when all the little crafts were adequately viewed and taking up every last inch of space on his bedside table, North finally got to throw his bag of goodies onto the bed.

Only then did Emma notice some of them were different.

"Why's some of them pink?" She asked.

"Well, Christmas is for all the good little girls and boys, isn't it?" North grinned at her, eyes twinkling in that Father Christmassy way that only he could do. Emma's eyes lit up, going round as baubles as she realised what he meant.

"This one's for me?!" She exclaimed. "And this one- and this one." North continuing, gesturing just two more of bright, pink wrapped boxes.

"The pink ones are all yours." Tooth told her, smiling (Tooth had got her nickname from an incident involving a kid's loose tooth getting knocked out- she'd handled so well they'd nicknamed her the Tooth Fairy, or just Tooth most of the time). "There's some from each of us." She explained, gesturing her fellow toy workers as she grinned giddily at Emma.

The little girl looked at the pile- which was almost fifty percent pink- and dove straight for the nearest box, before she suddenly remembered her manners. She tackled each of the toy store workers with a hug- almost dragging Bunny to the floor, as she jumped on him a little too enthusiastically. It was a good job they were in a hospital, Jack thought- they almost needed a nurse.

"Calm down, Emma." He told her, halfheartedly. "I don't think he'll fit in the bed with me." He joked. Emma's eyes suddenly widened as she looked pleadingly at him.

"Could I get on? Please, please, please, please!" She begged, drawing out that last please as long as she could. With that puppy face, how he say no? He tapped the side of his bed.

"There's room for a little person." He invited, and not long after she'd carefully shifted his legs aside was kneeling on his bed (she'd towered above him at first, until they tilted the bed upright.

Emma unwrapped toy after exciting, new toy. Squealing, marvelling, rattling, guessing, squeezing, unwrapping, gasping, grinning- and generally having a great time. Every time she opened a parcel, she turning to show it to her brother- asking what he got, as they unwrapped their gifts together. The Guardian's employees were all content to watch, and enjoy the magic of Christmas through the two siblings. They just loved watching kids enjoy themselves- that was why they did what they did.

Hiccup also sat and mostly watched the two, but (like the Guardian's employees), he did make occasional contributions to their conversations, and the random comments getting thrown across the room with every new, unwrapped item. But Hiccup was more quiet than usual for a different reason- and it was sat right under his chair. He was waiting to give Jack his present- it wasn't what he asked for (that would come later), but he knew it was going to be a big deal to him; so much so, he was going to wait until the others had gone out for Christmas dinner, and him and Jack were alone to give it to him.

Emma's presents were mostly typical stuff you'd give to little ten year old girl, but Jack's- given his condition- were sometimes a little more personal than he would've normally got for Christmas.

He got the sugar free mints and sugarplums from Tooth; and a sack of coal, 'for the naughtiest kid on the list' (that had been what the snicker was all about earlier), as well as an ornately painted chocolate Santa and reindeer from Bunny. But Sandy... he'd made something a little more meaningful.

The smallest worker couldn't speak, but he was a master craftsman- making some of the most beautiful and awe inspiring items and designs in the store. One of his more famous works were the Sandglobes (which had given him his nickname)- a collection of golden snow globes that showered little golden animals in glittering sand coloured dust.

But, the one Sandy had given him was a special edition- and he'd had left the globe in the same original packaging as every other Sandglobe... but with this model, there was one, small difference. There was a note inside, laying on top of the protective wrapping for the glass ornament. It fit the box exactly, and it was probably left inside every one of the ribbon tied boxes... But that was what took his breath away.

On that thin sheet of paper stretching across the top was five words... 'In memory of Jack Frost'...

The design was of a young boy- a teenager, but with a youthful feel about him. He was reaching up towards a giant snowflake, like he was catching a falling star. The boy. In the perfect image of him. Captured forever, in the heart of a snow globe...

But he understood the deeper message Sandy was saying to him... He was letting him know that he would be remembered. His name was now immortal- living on in this Sandglobe, and the many others just like it being sent across the world at this very moment... That was his legacy. He wasn't just a small boy, who lived a small life, and died with little impact- he was going to be remembered.

He would not be forgotten.

Just those five words on that small slip of paper had taken his breath away... They'd melted his heart in a way that it had never been melted before... It was one of the greatest things he could've asked for- his memory living on in a gift that would bring joy to children across the world.

But it wasn't the last present to give him a lump in his throat- no... it was just the first.

The next was an ice blue Russian doll North had made him. He said they had an identical one just like it back at the workshop... so whenever they saw it, they would remember him... All of him. Every layer, through every hollow doll.

The top one was just a normal, everyday, painted doll. It just looked like an average boy- nothing special about it. But beneath that first layer, there was more. The second doll was an obvious troublemaker- it had a devilish smirk lighting up the mischievous glint in his bright, blue eyes. The next one was smiling softly- painted hands resting on the shoulders of little brunette girl. The caring, brotherly side of him. Definitely a big part of him. Then came frowning doll, with an ice blue teardrop on its cheek... As much as he hated to admit it, his grief was also a part of him- and it wasn't going away any time soon (he doubted it ever would). Deep down, even now, he still missed his parents- and harboured more than a little bitterness about his pitifully short life. Then, just before the core- hidden right in the deepest, darkest part of him, where no one would ever find it until the last moment- that dark surprise. The doll was pale, a pitch black blotch spreading across its side and chest, like a part of the wooden doll was rotten, and slowly eroding away... No need to guess what this one was- it was the reason he was in this bed right now- but, the last doll, right at the centre... it made previous cruel reminder null.

The doll stood in silvery blue casual clothes... with a pair of beautiful, pure white wings sprouting from its back. An angel.

Whenever they saw this, back at the factory, they would remember him. The boy who, at first glance, seemed like nothing special, but, once you got to know him, was a devilish trickster- but was kind and caring in his deeper nature. They'd remember the tragedy, and sadness, that he kept hidden under wraps- and the ticking time bomb hiding within... But, most of all, they'd remember him for what they really saw. A boy, with the heart of angel.

That was the real gift here- it was similar to Sandy's, but much more powerful. They would not forget him. He'd forever be remembered by them.. As him. All that he was, the good and the bad. He wouldn't just pass on from their minds and their memories- they'd remember him... He'd live on in their hearts.

Then, just when he thought he'd reached the end of his presents, and they could melt his heart no further, they brought out the biggest, most heartfelt gift yet. A big, thick sketchbook- hand made and decorated- with the words 'Jack Frost' embossed on the front.

He'd been dazzled and touched by the cover alone, but when it just kept coming- page after page of memories, each one lovingly put together with hours of work and devotion put into it... He was glad Emma was turning the pages for him- because it was seriously overwhelming him. They'd actually done it- they'd well and truly rendered him speechless. His heart was a puddle- he'd just melted thoroughly. He could sense the effort and feeling they'd put into each individual page- the whole book seemed to radiate with a warm aura. He didn't know how much more he could take- it was all just too much, but it just kept going.

Page, after page, after page, after page, filled photos, bits of writing, glitter, pressed flowers, buttons, string- anything that looked pretty, or meant something to him, decorating every page from edge to edge. It was so heavy, he couldn't even lift it himself. Emma squeezed in next to him, and started pointing to each of the pictures, telling him each and every story behind each page- just like this was another piece of school work she was proudly showing to him. She told him who did each page, as they'd all chipped in with some of it- it was a collective gift, from all of them. Hiccup had done a few charcoal drawings- most showing just the three of them, but sometimes including a life size Toothless with them (said dragon even had a whole page dedicated to himself).

Hiccup'd even included a peculiar looking sea shell he insisted was the dragon's scale. On the next page there was a vivid reproduction of one of Jack and Bunny's argument, complete with speech bubbles. After that there was a huge collage of pictures that him, Emma and Hiccup had took, messing about on the younger teen's phone. The next page was everybody's nicknames- each surrounded by personalised doodles. The next was full of silvery glitter, with a plastic mirror in the middle- the words 'Jack Frost' framing it, as he looked at his own reflection. Then there was a very impressive painting Piccaso would've been impressed with- showing the five Guardian's employees (Bunny's handiwork). Then there was a-...

It went on and on- each page just as magical as the last- and he honestly just couldn't believe the amount and time and effort they'd spent making it for him. It was the best gift he could've asked for (until he changed his mind again)- well... except for that one thing he'd asked Hiccup for- he hoped the teen had held strong to his promise. Regardless, this book was incredible- the perfect collection of all his life and his friends, all lovingly bound together and decorated by hand. He'd be lying if said his eyes hadn't acquired a glassy sheen by the end of it. It was just beautiful. He reached an arm round Emma, and gave her as tight a hug as he could manage.

"It's amazing." He told them all. "I love it." He smiled- such genuine heartfelt emotion behind his words, that he noticed his eyes weren't the only ones that were starting to shine.

"Thank you." He told them- and he'd never meant any words more in his whole life. He hoped they knew how grateful he was... for everything. Those guys... they meant a lot to him- every last one of them... He just wished he could get the chance to spend more time with them...

Even now, he could feel himself slowly weakening... but he was determined to keep going- he was not dying on Christmas. He was holding on until the new day... but all the while they were talking, he was slowly slipping away... Without Christmas to give him a reason to keep fighting on, he had no doubt he would've passed away a long time ago... But for now he was still here...

"Bye Jack!" The young brunette called- her coat, gloves, hat and scarf all pulled on tight, ready to brave the elements. Only Hiccup remained sat by Jack's bed as the others got up to leave. They were going off to get some Christmas dinner at North's, (rather than putting up with the hospital canteen's equivalent), but Hiccup had insisted upon staying. The two boys both watched, as they left, exchanging out goodbyes with Hiccup and their bed bound friend...

Then when they were gone, and the door was closed, Jack asked.

"... So why did you really want to stay?" He knew Hiccup too well- he knew full well he wasn't just staying to keep him company, there had to be another reason behind it.

In response, the younger teen reached under the wooden chair he'd been sat on all morning, to pull out a sleek, black laptop bag Jack hadn't even known was there. Wordlessly, he got out the device and placed it on his own knees. As he waited for it to boot up, he explained.

"...I was going through the back room." He began.

Jack immediately went tense... The back room... The one part of their small apartment he never had the courage to enter... He just couldn't bring himself to confront it- it was just too terrifying, too painful. "I was just sorting through stuff... And I found these." He told him, cryptically, moving the laptop onto Jack's lap.

The white haired's heart was in his throat. This was from the back room... The thought terrified him like nothing else. If he had any control over his own breath, he was pretty sure he'd be hyperventilating. "I thought you might wanna see them." Hiccup finished, sitting back down and waiting for him to move.

Oh god, oh god... it's from the back room... Did he want to watch this? No- no! He just couldn't deal with it- no. He couldn't. He was absolutely terrified, his heart thumping loudly. He couldn't- just couldn't... Why did he want to so badly?! He was so mixed up with emotions, he didn't know what he was feeling- his head felt like it was running in circles, going insane in a world that seemed to have flipped on its head. It was too much- it was too terrifying- he couldn't handle this! He wasn't ready!...

And yet, still... his hand moved to the bottom of the keyboard... to click play.

"Okay, I pressed the thing- is it on?" The voice came out from the speaker.

Jack froze. It was a good job the machine was there, because he suddenly found himself unable to breathe. The screen was still pitch black, but he didn't care about that- just the audio was enough... Just the voice- the voice that for so long he'd only ever heard repeated in his head... It was... It was him... Oh god... It was his dad.

"Hold on why's the screen still black." He heard him mumbling to himself. "The red light's on, so why isn't it-?..." The voice trailed off. Muffled noises indicating the camera was being fumbled with, as he tried to figure out how to work it.

Then a second voice broke in- a woman's voice, sounding like it was being shouted from across a house.

"Have you taken the lid bit off the front?"

Jack's heart did a painful backflip... That was his mum...

More fumbling noises then the clattering of plastic crackled from the speakers- then suddenly a man's face appeared on the video.

His breath hitched in his throat- only through the mask was he taking in air. He almost shattered, as he saw his father's face again. Tears filled his eyes, as he fought not to cry from the sheer longing tearing him apart... He looked exactly like he remembered him, an older version of himself: rough, brown hair, wild and unkempt; his chestnut eyes narrowed in confusion as he tried to figure the camera out.

The camera flipped back round to show a room- one he recognised so well... It was home. The old home- the real home... The one he loved so much... He was overwhelmed- so many childhood memories from just that one room.

"Aha!" The man's voice exclaimed victoriously. "Got it!" His now offscreen voice yelled, panning the camera around the room so Jack got the full punch of bittersweet memories, right in the gut. He suddenly felt sick... Homesick... He missed that home- he missed the room, and he missed his dad. Then suddenly, the panning came across a woman... Mom... He missed her too- he missed her so much.

"You and your toys." She smiled, shaking her head. "You're going to be playing with that thing all day, aren't you." She said, smiling at the man behind the camera in the way Emma so often did to her big brother.

"Ahh, and here we have the most beautiful thing in the house." He commentated to the camera- and somehow Jack could hear the grin in his voice. He zoomed the camera in on the bundle in her arms. "Little baby, Jack- isn't he adorable." His dad joked. Jack couldn't tell whether he'd just laughed or sobbed- that was just so much like his dad, always teasing everyone. It was what had prompted himself to retort, and given him a sly tongue over the years- every clever comment that came out of his mouth, was all because of his dad.

It was a little strange perhaps seeing himself as a tiny, pudgy baby, but he didn't really care too much about that- he was just silently pleading with the camera to show him his parents again.

The camera lurched slightly as a blur of a hand pushed it back in rubuke. The man chuckled through his berating push, before refocusing the camera mother and baby again.

"You're nice too, honey." He corrected. Jack mouthed the following words even as they were spoken. "Third most beautiful thing in this house." Jack's mouth trembled, but he still didn't know if he wanted to cry or smile. His dad was always saying that (she became the fourth most beautiful when Emma came along). He'd always claim that his little boy was the most beautiful thing in the house, soon followed by himself, leaving his mother third (Emma had been second, knocking their dad down to third).

She rolled her eyes at the cameraman- something her grown son would come to do a lot of in future years. That was always her response to it- rolling her eyes, just like that- just like she just did...

He couldn't get enough of the video- he was drinking in the sight of his parents, holding on to their every sound they made... even, if it was just on a screen... He loved every moment- every hearbreaking, crushing, agonised moment... He loved them so much, it hurt... He just couldn't hold back the heartache- the endless crushing longing that was clawing at his heart. It broke a little more with every second that passed, as he sat watching them through that unbreakable window to the past- wishing, more than anything, that he could climb through and be with them again...

But, at the same time... he felt something new.

Something so small it was like the smallest drop of sun in the storm clouds of grief clouding his heart... and somehow... the hurt seemed to lessen, the tiniest little bit.

His father's teasings, and mother's playful scoldings ran on... and he started to feel just a fraction calmer... The video played on, documenting the heavy footed, headstrong baby's explorations in the jungle of furniture. Time passed and the baby grew into a boisterously loud toddler, recording his daily adventures, as he played with his father or mother. Then came the obnoxious eight year old with a devil's smirk, and unfiltered mouth full of cheeky comments.

He remembered his parents telling him he'd been a bit of a problem child- until, that was, the appearance of that one special bundle changed his life.

He watched his first time meeting his little sister through the camera's eye- even as he replayed the moment in his own mind. He remembered, in that moment, he'd promised himself... to always be the best big brother he could- and always make sure she was happy, with a smile on her face.

He remembered reaching out to the strange, little lump under the blanket... and feeling that magic as the tiniest fingers he'd ever seen wrapped around one of his own. She'd gargled happily and shook her small fists, and in that moment he knew... He would do everything in his power to keep that goofy, little smile on her face...

Even as little troublesome kid, he'd loved his little sister... and she'd literally made him into who he was today. He'd probably still be an arrogant nightmare of a child if not for that beautiful, little bundle changing his life.

The scenes moved on and he watched the second, little baby growing up just like he had himself: from her silent naps in the cradle, to her very first little steps- steps that he'd been there to guide her through. Her thick, clingy fingers holding on tight to his hands as he followed, supporting her every tottering, little step.

He watched as the little baby clapped her hands in delight as he put on a vivid puppet show for her with a pair of old socks.. Time moved on, and he saw two of them playing with brightly coloured toddler's toys together- evolving into simple snakes and ladders board games- then to the two of them running about in the garden together. The camera was hastily thrust into their mother recording, as their father rushing in to join the fun.

With every scene that passed, it seemed something small seemed to settle within him... He was sat, motionless, watching but unable to reach his parents through that tormenting glowing window, and yet... it stopped hurting so much.

As the scenes passed before his eyes, he began to feel like... it was okay, that they were gone... like he was finally making peace with their deaths, and letting them go... Pretty ironic, seeing as his own death was so close.

Eventually he moved his finger, and paused the screen. The video had been nearing its end anyway, and he wanted to freeze it on this moment.

The moment in which he'd managed to dig out the old camera, after years of it sitting in a box, and use it for the first time. He'd sneakily fooled everyone into thinking he was taking a picture of them, all the while recording every second. He wished he had taken it as a photo, the moment really was beautiful. All of his family, together and happy- Emma and his parents, smiling without a care at the camera. His wonderful mom, his young at heart father... And his beautiful little sister...

He ran his arm across his eyes as he felt a shaky smile split his face.

"You had to make me cry, didn't you." He teased, lightly, trying to clear the moisture that just kept reappearing in his eyes...

And yet... even though the video was over, he found that he wasn't bitterly longing for an impossible portal into the past- distraught that it had to end-... No, he felt something... different. He felt a strange sense of completion...

He remembered all that had happened in the last few hours: North, Bunny, Tooth and Sandy, giving out gifts, sharing chocolates with Emma, throwing teasing comments back and forth with Hiccup, marvelling the snowglobe, and working his way to the centre of the Russian doll, throwing wrapping paper at Bunny and pulling Christmas crackers with Tooth- the scrapbook with its endless pages of memories and love... and now, the video...

He smiled. For once, genuinely and without any weight on his mind- the shadows in his mind, of the past, chasing away... And he thought to himself... He really couldn't have asked for a better life...

It was dark now... The room was silent from within, the angelic voices of a choir singing carols drifting in, from speakers hidden in the corridor, through the crack in the door.

The room had been silent for a long time, but now someone finally stirred, feeling the buzz of their phone in their pocket. They yawned largely as they shook off the embrace of sleep, and drew out the device to see the new message that had been received. The lit screen cast a rectangle of light across his face, revealing his relieved smile.

He slid the phone away again, then he placed a hand onto the arm of the bed occupant, careful not to wake the little girl sound asleep on his lap.

"Jack." He muttered quietly. Jack's eyes prised open slowly with next to no hesitation.

...Hiccup, he thought. He wasn't in the least bit surprised- they'd planned this night just under a week ago now...

This was going to be it... He was hanging on until the passing of midnight, when the new day arrived... and then he was going to stop fighting. As requested, Hiccup had woke him when all the others were asleep.

There was some last things he wanted to say... and he wanted someone to be there, with him, when he slipped away... and he wanted no one else but Hiccup.

Emma, he didn't want to upset with the experience- everyone else, he didn't feel close enough to- but Hiccup... he was practically his brother...and after everything he'd done over the past few weeks, he wanted to say thank you to him one last time.

"...Hic." He muttered, barely more than a breathy whisper. He didn't want to wake anyone- they'd all been given special permission to stay the night, since he was at the end of his predicted week to live week. Besides, the people here weren't one to turn down a dying kid's wish... So they were all here: North and all the other workers at Guardian's, Emma... and Hiccup. He'd let Emma crawl into his bed with him, the way she would if she'd had a nightmare (back when things weren't shadowed by the knowledge of his impending death).

The adults had all fallen asleep in their chairs- he'd asked them to stay the night, and after the Christmas rush in the factory, they were all too tired too keep themselves awake. But that was okay. He didn't want them awake, he just wanted them there... If anything, it was better this way.

The room was so poorly lit from the outside corridor, the light from the various machinery hooked up to Jack and keeping him alive were the brightest things in the room. Hiccup could see his friend's face in the light of the glowing screen showing his vital statistics- the small hills running across the screen revealing just how weak he was. Jack could barely make out Hiccup's face in the poor lighting, but he thought he could see him smiling.

"Mum and dad just texted me." Hiccup told him. Jack looked at him in confusion. Huh? What was this all about? He wondered, lazily. "They finally got the paperwork sorted. We've officially adopted Emma." He informed.

Jack felt a calm relief spread through him... That was the exactly what he wanted to hear... Emma was safe...

Only now he had nothing left to tie him down to life anymore... He could pass on happily, now he knew Emma would be looked after when he was gone. He just had a few more things he had to say... then he could finally stop fighting to stay awake... and be at peace.

"What.. time?" He whispered, holding on the the last of his strength to get through his final words. Hiccup checking the digital clock on the side table- it was almost completely obscured by Emma's little handmade presents, but he could still make it out. He hesitated... A part of him thought that if he lied he might be able to make him stay a little longer... But he knew that was selfish.

"...Ten past one." He told him, fighting to keep a tremble out his voice...

This was it. He was going... But he didn't want him to leave. No matter that there was nothing he could've done- no matter that it would be cruel to keep him alive any longer- no matter that he'd promised to do this- he didn't want him to die! He'd known this moment was coming, but that didn't seem to make it any easier.

Jack's glazed eyes were looking at him '..you know what to do..' they seemed to be saying. Hiccup took a deep breath and gathered the remains of his courage... He reached out and took took the finger clip off Jack's finger- quickly transferring it onto his own, pretending he didn't notice the shake of his hands.

This was how Jack wanted it. Whilst the machine was silent now, when his pulse faded it would start waking up the entire ward- and the room with it... He just wanted to die quietly- not with everyone panicking, the machine bleeping like a siren and doctors rushing in to save a life that had just wanted to leave, with Emma watching helplessly as they tried to revive him... This was how he wanted it... Quiet... Peaceful... With his friends surrounding him, and Emma sleeping blissfully on his lap.

Hiccup took deep, quiet breathes in an attempt to calm himself... One last thing... He reached up and put his hand on Jack's mask... But then he suddenly found himself paralysed...

Jack was so weak now, he couldn't breathe for himself if he tried- once that mask was gone, he'd just fade away... He'd die... This machine was keeping Jack alive, but he just wanted it to be over... He was ready to pass on.. and he'd asked Hiccup to do this one last favour for him... But he just couldn't do it. He'd asked him to, but he just wasn't brave enough. He didn't want to do this. He couldn't-... He felt tears start to form is his eyes...

He looked at Jack, shakily, searching for the strength or reassurance to actually do it... But Jack was in a another world- lost in land of the past.

He lay there silently as all the good times passed through his mind... His life flashing before his eyes... It really was his time... And yet... He felt strangely relaxed about it... This was his death, but all he could feel was a calm and peaceful acceptance...

He remembered the moment where he'd stood in the same place as Hiccup- beside a hospital bed, wishing his parents didn't have to leave... And they told him one last thing..

"Look after Emma, for me." He whispered, lifting up his fingers to reach for one last comfort.

Hiccup gathered his will, strengthened his resolve... and took it. He nodding firmly. I will, he promised. I'll make sure she's happy- and she's safe- just like you did. For you- I'll protect her for you- in your memory... He just didn't have the courage to say it out loud...

He looked at Jack... He looked so tired... Like he needed to good, long sleep, Hiccup thought... So that was what he'd do... He'd help him sleep... Happy and at peace... Jack was so tired of fighting to stay alive... So he'd help him... He'd help him go... After all... It was just a long, peaceful sleep, he thought.

He slid the mask off his head... and for the first time in a long time... Hiccup gazed upon his face without the mask... Just the way he was meant to be... Like he had been before all this... and he watched as his mouth opened to speak his final words...

"...Thank you..." He whispered, the words barely more than the faintest noise... But he heard them.

...Thank you...

He treasured those last words, and held them tight to his heart, in the same way he was holding on to motionless hand.

The soft choir music from outside rose gently into another song.

"Silent night... Holy night... All is calm... All is bright.." Hiccup almost wanted to get someone to turn it off, but he refused to leave Jack's side... He could feel him slipping away... His face slowly relaxing, letting go of its worldly worries... as he faded from this world to the next...

"Sleep in heavenly peace..."

Hiccup watched, suddenly taking comfort in the song- yes, that's all he was doing... He was just sleeping... and he would stay with him... Until the end... He looked much calmer than he ever did in life... so peaceful... almost angelic...

The pulse in his fingers slowly drifted away...

...and his eyes slowly slid shut...

"...Sleep in heavenly peace..."

Merry Christmas I'm the lonely life


	4. Chapter 4

The only one brave enough to take the sword, is the one it holds closest to its heart - for . .head

Winter was the most dangerous season. That much was common knowledge for both spirits and mortals alike- but did it follow that spirits who was a part of that season was also dangerous?

The answer was simple.

Spirits were no more dangerous than knives. Mere tools- harmless by themselves. They could be used safely, to aid people- or they could be used for violence. It depended entirely on who took up the knife. But the greater the spirit, the greater the power- the longer and sharper the knife... And so winter spirits were among the sharpest. They were often used for great good in the world... but would happen... if darkness took the knife?

What would happen if the winter sword was turned on those it protected?... And who would dare take it back?

An explosion from outside. Jack and Bunny flinched- throwing their arms up to keep their balance, as the impact shook the ground.

"The bloody hell was that?!" Bunny shouted.

"Well I'm assuming... it's something bad." Jack drawled, a strange mix of annoyance and boredom in his condescending tone. "Unless you expect firework displays at the North Pole." He added, the comment a clear insult.

"Shut up." Bunny muttered, starting to get a little riled up at the winter spirit. Tooth zipped in, with Sandy floating just behind her.

"Did you guys hear that?" She asked, concerned.

"Hm? I'm sorry- did you say something?" Jack said, feigning deafness as though he hadn't just heard the explosion- or Tooth. Everyone ignored the comment.

He'd been like this since he arrived at the pole. Somewhat grumpy; casually throwing out mean, or provoking, comments; caring even less about the North Pole's 'keep pranking to a minimum' policy than usual. He'd probably just had a bad day with non believers they reasoned- or perhaps he'd had a bad night sleep.

"Oy- cut it out, smart alec- the North Pole could be under attack!" Bunny chided, glaring at him- but the spirit remained seemingly oblivious to his scolding gaze.

Bunny turned away, inwardly sighing as he looked at Tooth- silently grumbling to her, as he met her eyes. Honestly, I swear that kid wants me to get up in his face sometimes. He told her, wordlessly. I know, just bear with it. She answered, somewhat apologetic on Jack's behalf. He's probably just had a bad day. She told him. Bunny closed his eyes in another long, internal groan, then answered her initial question.

"Yeah- any idea what it was?" Bunny asked. She shook her feathery head, about to reply when they heard a clattery bang.

Jack's staff slamming into the ground- demanding attention. The spirit swung back and forth on the ancient staff.

"Then what are we still doing around here, then?" He asked, rolling his head in a way that screamed boredom. "Lets get out and see what it is already. Or are you just big babies?" Bunny opened his mouth to come up with an angry retort, when Tooth flew between them in an attempt to diffuse the tension. Stop it. Her eyes told Bunny- then to Jack, she said.

"We need to wait for North." Tooth explained to the irritable winter spirit. "We can't rush in there alone, or blindly." She informed. He should already know that, Bunny thought to himself grumpily.

"But North's already out there." He informed, casually.

"WHAT?!" The others exclaimed, rushing to the door to head outside.

In their haste, and worry for North, they forgot to ask some crucial questions. How did Jack know North was out there? ... And why didn't he tell them sooner? Perhaps, if they'd been a little slower, and kept an eye on the winter spirit, they would've noticed the dull, grey colour of his usually blue eyes...

...and the sly, dark twist of his lip as he followed.

They dashed out into the open tundra. There small lump in the distant snow. Bunny couldn't spot any signs of movement- and even from this great distance, his enhanced eyesight should've been able to see some kind of movement, if he was running towards the Pole like he should've been.

"North!" Bunny called. Tooth took off towards him, Bunny and Sandy following seconds later. All of them unaware of Jack's leisurely stride as he turned round swinging his staff.

If only they had been paying more attention to him- they would've known for certain that something was up. Because why would he have frozen the doors shut behind them? They rushed on to North, completely blind to the deadly trap they were walking straight into.

As they approached the Christmas Guardian, they noticed that he was lying there- bound and gagged. Dread hit them. How, in the name of the moon, had this happened?! North was still within the magical boundaries surrounding the Pole- how had something something managed to do this?! Something, somehow, had broken into the the Guardian's stronghold- and that rattled them. But not only that, it had they captured, tied and gagged North! The swordsman was always equipped for a deadly situation, and he did not go down easily, so what had happened? Just what were they up against here?! It could only be something really bad- and they really didn't like it.

They finally reached his side. The Guardian was desperately trying to shout something to them- eyes screaming a warning they were unable to decipher. But he seemed..unharmed? Other than being tied up, he looked completely fine! Not only had something subdued North, they'd done it so easily they hadn't even needed to harm him. This just kept getting worse- they needed to know what they were up against, and they had to get North free.

Bunny reached for the gag to free his mouth, as Tooth and Sandy grabbed his bonds. The all cried out as searing pain burnt through them.

"THE BLOODY HELL?!" Bunny yelled, as the burning subsided somewhat. He hadn't payed attention to what the bonds were made of- none of them had- and now, they found themselves stuck to it. "Ice?" Bunny muttered, confused. But the only person who used ice around here was-. He realised in disbelief. What was-?

Amused laughter echoed across the ice, as the one remaining Guardian stood laughing at their predicament.

"Oh, ha ha- bloody hilarious mate!" Bunny shouted as he tried to pull his limbs free- thinking this was all just a practical joke. "Now would you let us go already- you've had your stupid joke." He demanded, angrily.

"Now why would I do that?" Jack asked, everything about him suddenly turning cold. "I've got you exactly where I want you." He told them, a slow menacing smirk sliding across his face.

"What are you blabbered on about?" Bunny asked, oblivious to the deadly aura coming from the spirit- only half paying attention to what was going on as he continued to tug against the ice. Then he froze needle of ice jutted towards his throat.

"You guys were just too easy.." Jack muttered, the air surrounding them turning even colder and more sinister. "I don't see why Pitch ever had any trouble." Tooth's eyes darted about in alarm and confusion, as the needles of ice slowly circled around them.

"What are you saying..?" She muttered.

"'Who turned on the northern lights, I was in the middle of a snowball fight'; 'but North's already out there.'" He quoted. Then, they saw the giant heap of collapsed snow resting up the side of the pole- almost as though someone had thrown a giant snowball at it, enough to make a resounding boom throughout the entire workshop... That hadn't been an explosion, had it...

They put together the clues together... He'd wanted them to come out here- it was all him! He'd activated the northern lights- he'd tied up North!

"I'm disappointed, really." He carried on, drearily. "It's basic kids knowledge. You don't stick your tongue on a frozen lamppost- you don't place your hands on solid ice." He said, like some kind of sinister teacher, looking down at them disdainfully.

"You're not the real Jack." Bunny realised. The spirit turned to him, a terrifying light behind his eyes.

"Aren't I?" He questioned stepping forwards- almost nose to nose with the Easter Guardian. "Look closer." He whispered- eyes staring straight into the Guardian's.

A shadow flitted behind dark grey eyes- and Bunny drew back in horror.

"That's the darkness..." He whispered. Those exact eyes- he'd seen them before... on Pitch Black.

Jack backed up slightly, but not so far that they couldn't see the menacing darkness behind replacing the glint of mischief and hot in his eyes. His skin paled, turning slightly ashen- like they were watching a film that wasn't quite black and white, but somewhere between colour and monochrome.

"You catch on quick, rabbit." He sneered, darkly. "But not quickly enough." He noted. He was too late. Far too late to do anything about it. They all were.

"Jack, what happened to you?" Tooth asked trying to hold back her despair- still in denial, unable to make the connection between the darkness and him.

"Shall we call it an awakening?" He suggested, tauntingly. "Well, I mean, it should be obvious what happened, but since I seem to be dealing with idiots here, I guess I'll have to spell it out for you." He muttered distastefully, looking at them like they were dirt beneath his feet.

"That last little scuffle with Pitch wasn't a really a battle." He told them. Wasn't a battle? They thought. He'd attacked them- what else could've been? "It was all a test- auditions, if you will- to see who would be taking old Pitchy's place." He explained, grinning darkly. "He's been failing for too long- centuries too long- so the nightmares decided to bring in some fresh blood... And guess who got promoted." He finished, grinning sadistically like it was some huge achievement.

LSay hello to the new Shadow King." He told them the darkness behind his eyes growing stronger as though revelling in its new power.

Pitch? Jack? Auditions? Oh Manny, no. The darkness had been searching for a new host. It'd finally given up on pitch- and looked for someone more powerful... Auditions... That meant it had been looking at all of them as candidates- it could've been them stood there, betraying their friends, and they wouldn't have been able to do anything about it!... But if the shadows really had taken over Jack, as he said it had, he stood no more chance of breaking free from it than Pitch did. No- they refused to consider it... No! They still grasped onto the fragile hope- the illusion- that this was all an elaborate joke, this couldn't be real... But the darkness behind Jack's eyes... and that malice in his voice... It couldn't be faked. The Jack they knew would speak like that- and he knew the line that defined when things went too far, he'd never cross it this far. But thinking of this as any more than a prank meant it was true- he really was consumed by the darkness- and they couldn't accept it!.. But, at the same time, it was just all too possible.

Jack was the perfect host for the darkness to corrupt. Winter was dangerous no matter how you looked at it- and Jack already had a shadow of darkness hanging over him from all the misery winter had caused over the last three centuries. It wasn't his fault, they knew that, but he bore the scars of responsibility for it. Not only that- with the power of an entire season, with both the wind and ice at his command, the darkness would have been all too eager to claim him. But worst of all, he had the inside knowledge- and the inside trust of the darkness' greatest enemies... It must've have been so easy to lead them straight into this simplest of traps... And they'd fallen for it.

They'd stupidly fell for the one of the oldest traps in the book- but how could they have ignored North in his distress?... They couldn't have just stood there and done nothing... and Jack knew that. He'd twisted their good natures against them, and now... They daren't even think about what happens now. What he might do, now that he had them right at his mercy.

By now, only Bunny was still grasped onto hope that things would be okay- but even he was only clinging to one last shred of hope.

"So why haven't you killed us yet?" He pointed out. The others grasped on to his way of thinking. He was right. If he really was completely consumed by shadows, why were they still alive? Why hadn't he finished them already? If this was Pitch, they'd have been long gone. Jack laughed at him harshly, like he thought he'd just told a great joke.

"What you think it's out of sentiment?" He chuckled. "That I still care somewhere? Deep down? Oh no, I'm just enjoying myself." He grinned, sadistically. "I mean where's the fun in victory if I don't savour it first?"

Their last bit of hope vanished. They really didn't stand a chance- they were only still alive because their executioner was enjoying the victory. They were dead... at the hands of one of their own.

"But alright, if you insist. I guess I've had my fun." He said darkly.

What? No! That's not what they meant! They could see the dark spirit taking full pleasure in their panic.

"Time to say goodbye." He said, smoothly raising his staff to point at them, like the barrel of a shotgun, but infinitely more powerful.

"Jack- stop!" Tooth called, trying to get through to the Jack that she knew and loved- praying he'd hear her-... but there was no response from the spirit, other than dark, twisted amusement. Bunny remained silent. He's not going to do it, he's not going to do, he repeated over and over in his head. "Just think about this- think about the children! You know what this'll do!" She cried- and then she stopped with a choked gasp... He did know... He just didn't care. There was such a look of dull indifference in his eyes... she could no longer recognised them as Jack's. This really wasn't him. This spirit didn't care about the children- he didn't care about them! He really had been completely consumed by the darkness... He stood no more chance of breaking free of it than Pitch did... and that meant they stood no chance either. They were dead.

She watched the ice blue light working its way up the staff. The harsh glow of arctic power almost blinding. She closed her eyes. It was over

...

... Or was it?

There was one small problem the darkness hadn't quite eradicated yet. The one thing that could turn things in the Guardian's favour... But was it enough? There was one flaw at the heart of the shadow's plan...and that was his heart.

If the Guardian's could've see deeper into Jack's eyes than the initial shadow of darkness- through the windows, into his soul- they would've seen an ocean of black water. His mind was completely overrun with the power of darkness... But in the distance... in the furthest reaches of his mind... was an island. An island just barely bigger than the crouched figure sat upon it. Trapped, helplessly, as the sea level slowly rose to swallow him. A single touch of a single drop of dark water leeched away at his existence, and tried to pull him into oblivion. He'd tried to avoid it as long as he could, but it was hopeless... The water just kept rising. Pretty soon it would claim him... and there's nothing he could do about it.

He shifted his arms as he hugged his knees, head bowed in defeat... He'd given up. The last remains of Jack Frost had abandoned all hope... He was just sat awaiting the water's cruel touch, that would slowly swallow him whole.

He buried his head a little deeper, trying to block out the darkness' endless screams surrounding him. Why wouldn't someone just make it stop?! Please! He didn't want to hear it! It whispered endlessly to him: 'you're a fool, little winter knat- the Guardian's were playing you for a pawn- they never truly cared about you... and look at where you are now... you're pathetic- too weak to save your own skin- and too cowardly to save them. He tried to block it out. He wasn't listening. He wasn't listening. 'What- no fight, little knat? I was told that Guardians were strong- that they never let themselves fall to darkness- where's your fight?' He remained silent, wishing for it all to stop. 'Maybe you aren't a Guardian after all.' It whispered, maliciously.

No... no! He was! He did belong-... He-...! He defended to himself, but even to his own mind it sounded weak... His faith was starting to slip... No- no... please... The water started to rise faster. It was almost lapping at his toes... but he struggled to bring himself to care about it... He just wanted this to be over... It was only going to claim him anyway, what was the use in struggling? It wasn't like he could've won anyway... Maybe he should just let the water take him- maybe it would be easier that way...

The ocean rose even faster... It was about touch his feet, when he heard an impossible voice of an angel.

"...Jack..."

His eyes snapped open. The water halted briefly... But that was... He thought, standing quickly to search around him for the source of the voice.

"Emma...?" He whispered. Had that really just been her? Or was he imagining things? No- it couldn't be her. What was he thinking- she was long gone. She was dead... But knowing that he was also supposed to be dead, was it so strange he almost expected see her there?... It really had sounded just like her... But it was all in his head... right? Then again, all of this was in his head, but... no... surely... She couldn't be. He was making it up.

"Jack!"

He heard the voice again, and span round- it was closer this time. That was her! It was actually her! No, it was just his head! No-! He didn't know what to think! Where was she?

"Emma?!" He called, hoping upon hope- praying upon a prayer that she'd hear him and reply.

His foot vanished into the dark water, as he didn't look where he was going. Momentary panic flashed through him, as it faded out of existence at the touch, and he quickly drew it back out. The water was much closer now- the ocean now surrounding his feet in a miniture ring. He couldn't move without touching it. Oh god- it was so close! Full blown fear raced through him. He was about to get swallowed by the dark water! Forget any stupid thoughts he'd had about wanting it to end- that was just the stupid darkness twisting his thoughts around- he was terrified! He didn't want to die! The water was so close... Help.. He thought, almost trembling. Someone, please... Help me..

"Jack."

He looked up from the ever shrinking circle around his feet, and froze... There, surrounded by a nimbus of pure, white light... was his little sister. His mind reeled like it was working double time for his motionless body. It... She... Em... Was-?.. No... Even his thoughts wouldn't form coherently. She smiled, then laughed, at what he guessed was a dumbstruck beyond belief, smacked by a frying pan, jaw open, eyes wide facial expression. The sound softened him, and he managed to release his breath that had been stunned stiff inside his chest.

He reached out towards her, numbly- stretching out his arm in a daze of disbelief... He had to know if she was really... Could he actually...? A sudden stab of the dark water's leeching, soul sucking void pulled away at his foot- siphoning his life energy into the void, as the darkness started to devour him. His panic returned in full force. Oh god-oh god! He'd drowned once- but as if the flashbacks weren't terrifying enough, this time the water was alive and actually consuming him. He didn't want to die! Not drowning- not again! Please- help!

"Emma!" He cried out again, desperately leaning out as far as he dared to try and reach her, but it still wasn't far enough. He didn't stop- she was just so close- maybe if he leaned a little further, if his arm stretched a little more it might somehow reach her... He just had to keep stretching... Just a little-! His heart leaped into his throat- stopping for a moment- as he lost his balance, almost falling head first into the deadly water.

But somehow, he managed to regain his balance, and was left frozen... shaking on the spot... Not daring to move a single muscle... He might as well be teetering on the edge of a cliff that surrounded him on all sides.

"You need to fight it, Jack."

He looked up at the glowing angel of his sister, as she spoke again. Fight? What did she think he'd been trying to do?! But what could he do- he couldn't magically control the water! He can't fight water- no one can! There's just no stopping it! No matter how hard you struggle- how hard you kick out- it still drags you down- and freezes your limbs- and chokes its way down your throat- and-... He stopped himself there... He wasn't just talking about right here... He knew from experience: water always won. Once it tried to claim you, there was nothing you could do... He tried to fight the tremble running through his limbs, but he was reliving his death... There almost nothing, in the whole world, that could terrify him more than the thought of vanishing into the depths of cold, merciless water again...

He could feel it crawling up his ankles, lapping at his calfs- and it kept climbing higher- and higher-! He fought to stop himself hyperventilating.

"Em..." He said, shakily- his voice cracking. "I'm scared..." He whispered. The admonition suddenly made the water ride even quicker- climbing up his thighs, until almost his entire legs were sucked into the void of non-being.

"It's okay- its okay..."

He heard the quick but calm reassurances from just in front of him, and latched onto them desperately like a lifeline.

"Don't look down..." She told him... And, slowly, he raised his head... to gaze straight at her. She smiled, reassuringly. "Just look at me..." She said, calmly.

He tried to get some control over his overactive breathing... Be brave... be brave.. He told himself. Everything was going to be okay- it was going to be fine. He repeated, over and over. He locked eyes with her's... and he felt the fear start to loosen its hold on him... The water slowed. Fear, he thought... That's how it works... The darkness was using his fear- feeding off it to consume him even faster. That was it! He just had to relax... calm down.. stop being afraid... be calm...

But no matter how much he calmed himself, the water just kept on rising... Either he wasn't relaxing well enough...or it was still carrying on regardless. The flow was much slower now, but it still carried on. It seemed like there was just no way to completely stop it! But he held his nerve. He looked back up at Emma.

"How do I fight?" He asked. he'd done all he could to try and stop it in its tracks- now all he needed to do was find a way to battle against it, and get rid of this dark ocean surrounding him.

"The same way you always have."

She told him. What? He frowned in confusion. That told him nothing! Could she not give him more than a vague hint? He was a mental figure in a taken over mind- in what part of anywhere did this seem remotely normal?! How did he 'always' fight?! He was pretty sure it didn't apply in mental, figurative fights against black water!

"But, I don't know what to do here." He told her. This was just a confusing mindscape- full of water. It was supposed to be his mind, but now he was now a stranger in it, and he had no idea how to do anything here! What could he do to fight?! He had no idea what to do.

"Then find something you do know how to use." She said, raising her arm towards him.

A wisp of the pearly white mist surrounding her stretched out of her hand, and back beyond it...eventually resolving itself into a long stick of wood. A familiar hooked 'C' curving at the end.

His eyes lit up in recognistion... and wordlessly... he stretched out his arm to grab it.

He wrapped both hands around the ancient staff- even feeling the swirling grain of the twisted bark beneath his fingers... Was this real? He wondered. It felt so lifelike... But then... He looked past the staff, at Emma... Did that mean she was real?... Or was she just a figment of his imagination?... Did it matter, a part of him thought. Real or not real, she felt real to him. She was right there in front of him- and besides, all of this was inside his head right now- none of it was real, physically- but that didn't make it meaningless. He almost laughed as he realised the full scale of what he was contemplating. He was a mental figure inside the head of the spirit of a dead kid from three hundred years ago- talking to his sister, who wasn't even a spirit but was still here somehow, surrounded by an ocean of manifested darkness; and he was wondering what real was. Seriously. He'd gotten to the point where real was meaningless- what really mattered was the nonexistent.

This was the battle for the control of Jack Frost. Sure, the darkness had everything in its favour- he had a stick. But now, he wasn't helpless. Now he knew exactly what to do... He could fight back.

He grinned at Emma. Now this was something he could work with. How to stop water.. You make it freeze.

He slammed his staff into the water now surrounding his waist. A whole ring of solid ice shot out from where he stood. He could finally feel his legs again! There was still an entire oceans worth of darkness out there, but bring it on! He was ready!

He whirled his staff round in sweeping circle, and a huge arc of the once dark water in front of him transformed into pure, white ice. But the darkness wasn't letting go- and a full scale monsoon erupted in his mind- collosal waves rolling all around him, but he wasn't giving up!

A giant tsunami wave reared towards him- as tall as a mansion with the speed and power of a charging. He almost ran from it, but no. He gripped his staff and ran straight at it, head on. He was playing very dangerously- the water only had to douse him and it was all over, yet he was running towards a giant wave that could easily engulf him. Seconds before the water would've hit, he slashed his staff through the water. The towering mass of dark water froze into a giant rolling curl of snow, which collapsed in on itself.

He grinned. Yes! He was doing it! He was beginning to feel actually quite confident of himself.

Then the entire ocean rose up, erupting like a geyser around him. He was completely dwarfed by the sheer amount of water above him. It like a huge never-ending waterfall that surrounded him on all sides- if gravity had flipped on its head, and decided to make water go up instead of down.

Any confidence vanished in that instant. The huge swathes of water he'd transformed into ice were nothing compared to the sheer overwhelming size of the remaining ocean.

Then, as though gravity reasserted itself, the whole thing collapsed inwards on itself- falling towards the miniscule Guardian. An entire dam's worth of black water about to completely engulf him. There was no way he could get out of this- even his staff couldn't freeze this amount of water. He was dead.

He threw his arms up uselessly, as the dark water dropped towards him like a fist. Then suddenly, Emma was there holding him-and he was completely encapsulated by her glowing light.

"I've got you." She whispered into his ear. He couldn't see anything her blinding aura was so bright, but he heard the crash of water break around him. She was protecting him!

"Thank you... for giving me the time to save you." She whispered... her voice slowly growing more distan... her embrace melting away... as he felt her presence fade...

"...Emma?" He called out, experimentally, but he could no longer see or feel anything... Until the light vanished to reveal an open arctic landscape.

The Guardian's were all huddled in front of him, looking at him- somewhat awestruck, somewhat terrified. All of them were stuck together with strips of ice that encircling North like ropes. A distant rumbling made him look up, as the remains of an avalanche crawled down the side of a far away mountainside an explosion of frozen spikes sticking out from near the top of it. What just-?

He blinked, frowning. The memories of recent hours started floating away like clouds in the wind. Within seconds, the whole thing had turned into a giant haze of confusing blurry, white light. All the last hours becoming a incomprehensible blur, and the last thing he remembered was planning to fly to Burgess to have a snowball fight with the kids.

He blinked again, retaking in the Guardians lying before him, and he frowned. Why did he get the feeling like he'd just missed something?...

"Erm... What just happened?" He questioned.


	5. Chapter 5

All I Wanted was Heartburn Medicine! - For Wolfan Terror

"Oh my god- what is?! Just- what- js?! The hell just?! What the?!" Jack screamed. Bunny tried to keep a straight face, but it was almost impossible.

"Could be worse, mate." He commented, as Jack completely freaked out in front of him.

"That's easy for you to say!" Jack yelled at him, going mad with shock. "You're not a-!" He stopped, realising what he was just about to say. Bunny's lip twitched.

"Rabbit?" He finished, smirking.

Standing right in front of him, covered in fur, with giant ears and feet- constantly falling over as he panicked- was an little, white fluffball of rabbit. Jack Frost.

Bunny had seen a rabbit freak out before- it had been pretty funny- but this was just hysterical!

"Who puts flippin' rabbit potion next to the heartburn medicine?!" The white rabbit raged. A silver grey snowflake coloured his otherwise plain fur- he tripped over his feet for the nineteenth time.

"Just be glad you didn't have a cough- you'd have ended up as a grizzly." Bunny told him, still smirking in amusement as he watched. Jack couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "Didn't anyone tell you never to touch glowing, magical bottles?" Bunny questioned. He should've really known better than that, but he was so glad he did- this was the best thing since seeing North drunk on eggnog. The medicine was magical- and so it did belong with the other potions- but if you wanted some, and didn't understand ancient runes, you were in trouble.

He wondered how long it'd take for him to stop going crazy.

"It was a really bad heartburn!" Jack yelled, defensively, still trying to see if he had that stupid cottontail behind him. Bunny snickered- unable to hold it in any longer. He never thought he'd see a rabbit chasing its tail like a dog. "You think this is funny?!" Jack exclaimed.

"From where I'm standing." He smirked, thoroughly enjoying himself. It really was just too tempting to tease a rabbit, he thought- no wonder Jack enjoyed it so much.

The Easter Guardian decided he'd have a little fun- after all, with the amount of tricks the winter spirit had pulled on him over the years, he figured he should probably make the most of this golden opportunity.

"I just hope North can make an antidote for it." He said, taking up all his will power to keep his expression neutral.

"What do you mean antidote?!" Jack screamed, full blown panic exploding through his brain.

"Wonder if he even has it..." Bunny pretended to muse. He could practically see the endless stream of 'nonononononono...' running through Jack's head. "Guess I'll have to put an order in for skinny, obnoxious ice brat." He told him, smirking as he lightly tossed a stray bauble towards him. "It wears off ya dingus- cool your little fluff tail." He teased.

Jack must've leapt half the length of the room when he saw the bauble fly towards him- it was nowhere close to hitting him, but his ice blue eyes were still wide with unnecessary panic.

"That was as big as my head!" He exclaimed. Bunny rolled his eyes- no it wasn't, it was less than half the size of his head (barely a fraction if you counted his ego, he thought). "Do something like that again and I will freeze you! Don't think I can't do it- and I am literally the perfect jump height to kick you where it hurts." Jack threatened. Bunny just couldn't take him seriously. Did he do that when he got mad? Scrunch up his nose, and stand on his hind legs like it suddenly made him look dangerous? The tiny ball of fluff, barely any bigger than his hand, was trying to square up to him. He just couldn't! He was fit to burst from the contained laughter trapped inside him- man in the moon, he looked so ridiculous!

"Hey- stop laughing, you stupid-..." Jack paused- and this time Bunny just couldn't hold back a snort.

"What? Struggling to think of something, Frost?" He taunted. Every single teasing name Jack had for him was rabbit related- and he couldn't very well use them under the circumstances. This was priceless! Jack was lost for taunts! He couldn't believe it- this was just brilliant!

Jack's eyes narrowed slightly in acceptance of the challenge.

"Don't think I can't think of something." He warned, attempting to jump up onto North's wheely chair- only to fail spectacularly, by smashing into it and falling flat on his back, as the chair rolled away leisurely.

"Ow! What is the point of these things being so big?" He complained, stomping an oversized foot against the floor, in punishment of not letting him make the jump.

Speaking of being big, Bunny thought- those ears were pretty large... No- he couldn't. It was cruel!... But he just had to.

He clapped his hands together, loudly- the sound like a bomb hitting to Jack's newly sensitive ears. The rabbit flinched, ears pressed flat against his head as he tried to make sense of what just happened.

"Jeez- what exploded?" He asked, blinking, dazed, as he looked around, like he genuinely expected clouds of dust to settling around them.

"I think you'll find that was a clap." Bunny explained, enjoying the look of baffled confusion that spread across his face as he wondered how that loud bang could've possibly been a clap.

"What?" He muttered, still mildly disoriented by the noise.

"These things are for more than just decoration you know." He pointed out, gesturing his ears. The kid was acting like being a rabbit was the worst thing ever- honestly, he thought, it wasn't that bad, he was just being a drama queen.

Jack's nose wrinkled.

"Then what's that smell? It's like gym locker meets bakery." He grimaced. Bunny chuckled- a pretty accurate description, considered, he thought.

"That'd be North." He informed. "He spends a lot of time in here." Jack attempted to pinch his nose with a paw, before realising he couldn't.

"Does he ever shower?" He asked. Bunny chewed his lip as he thought about it- actually, now he mentioned it, hygiene did take a back seat when it came to work with the Christmas Guardian.

"Best not to know the answer to that question." He answered wisely. At least he'd managed to get the winter spirit interested in his newly expanded senses.

"So, hold on- what's that...?" He wondered, half to himself, as he crawled under North's desk.

Now where was going? Bunny thought, tilting his head to follow his progress- wow his small had really let him vanish into the depths of the workbench (it was meant to be a desk, but North used it as dual purpose).

"What the? Hey, why does North have a safe down here?" He heard Jack's somewhat muffled voice call out. Wait, what? There was a safe under there?

"What?... No idea mate." He murmured, confused. Why would he keep a safe under his desk?... And what was inside? He knew he wasn't supposed to pry, but he was dying to know what was in that thing- especially considering its obscure hiding spot.

He scented the air to see if it was anything he recognised- strangely all he got was the background North musk.

"How come you can smell something and I can't?" Bunny frowned.

"Looks like you've gone nose blind, Gramps." Jack taunted. The little-! He said he'd come up with a new name for him! Suddenly he was missing 'kangaroo'- anything but 'Gramps'. He supposed he was right about his nose, though- he was so used to the smell of North in here, any smaller smells were numb to him.

"Any idea what the combination is?" Jack asked, looking at the lock.

Bunny bit his lip. He wasn't supposed to. He should be respecting his privacy- he wasn't meant to go rooting through North's stuff... On the other hand, it was Jack's paw prints on the evidence- who was to say he had anything to do with it?... He supposed there was no harm in letting the numbers slip, if Jack was the one taking the blame.

"Try 2512." He suggested- that was the code for almost everything at the Pole.

"Christmas Day? Seriously? He couldn't have made it less obvious?" He questioned, disbelievingly. I know, right, Bunny thought. It was hardly the most difficult thing in the world to guess- he kept telling North to change it. There was a soft click.

"Yes!" Jack cried, victoriously. And yet again it seems his words had gone unheard, Bunny sighed. Apparently the Christmas Guardian hadn't been paying any attention to warnings about needing a better combination. Well then, he guessed it was North's own fault what happened next- maybe this would finally be enough to get him to upgrade to new security measures.

"Oh, I don't believe this." Jack marvelled."What is it?" Bunny asked, as Jack hopped his way out, rolling something with him we just hit the jackpot- we just found his secret stash!" He announced, kicking the cookie jar over to him. Cookies? Surely, North wouldn't have gone through all that trouble just for hiding regular cookies- he gets them ordered on a daily basis. Bunny took a closer look at them... These weren't normal cookies.

"No way." He muttered- eyes widening in disbelief.

"What?" Jack asked, trying to see what had him all exciting.

"These are literally the golden cookies- he never even lets us touch any of these!" He told him. Forbidden food... Jack liked it already. They were just begging to get eaten.

"And why are they golden?" He asked, curiously.

"Because they've been magically adjusted to be one of the most delicious things you could ever eat." Bunny answered, staring at one in awe.

Jack's jaw dropped open. Seriously?! Okay now that thing was definately going in his stomach. Maybe this nose wasn't entirely worthless after all... He could rock being a rabbit for a bit.

"Please tell me these things are vegetarian- or else I'm not." He said, eyeing up the jar. Bunny looked like he wanted to protest, but then he got drawn in by the warm, golden, tastebud sensation in his hand. He could not pass this opportunity up- and besides, North had brought it on himself.

"Wait!" Jack declared. Bunny turned to him in confusion. "Put them away for later- there's something I just have to first." He grinned, hopping towards the doorway.

"Hot chocolate?" Bunny guessed. Jack's ears pricked up.

"Ooh, I like that way of thinking... but, I had something else in mind." Bunny's eyebrows furrowed slightly- something so important, the most delicious snack in the world could wait?

"Lets go see if North has a trampoline somewhere- I can't bounce on a full stomach." He grinned, jumped towards the door.

"Really? A trampoline? Even with the extra spring power?" Bunny pointed out- he could already jump high, without a trampoline.

"Especially with the extra spring power." Jack smirked over his shoulder. Of course Bunny- regular bouncing wasn't enough- he had to go extreme (he swore that kid had been spending too much time with North).

He hopped his way out into the workshop

"I'm making the most of being a Bunny!" He called. He would've been happy to hear him say something like that- it he wasn't currently seeing what he was seeing. A rabbit walking out into the heavy trafficked workshop- about to become Frosty roadkill if it wasn't careful. Oh Manny- he was gonna get trampled out there! North hadn't invested in Bunny crossings!

He hurried out, somehow losing the small white blur in the forest of feet. It didn't take long for him to find him again- just head towards the commotion, and you'll spot him just fine. Jack dashed back and forth across the yeti's feet, as they stumbled and side shuffled about, yelling in alarm, as they did everything in their power to avoid him- unfortunately causing more than a few upsets in the traffic. He'd just about started a domino chain reaction of falling yetis by the time Bunny had caught up with him.

Sprinting forwards, the Guardian managed to catch him mid jump, and scoop him out of danger. When they were far enough away to escape the damage they'd caused, Bunny put him on his shoulder like some kind of really peculiar parrot.

"You alright?" Bunny asked, concerned, almost expecting him to be shaking. What was he saying- he'd just nearly been trampled to death by a hundred yetis, of course he wasn't-!

"Let's do that again!" He grinned enthusiastically, buzzing with excitement.

Bunny stared at him in shock for a moment, before shaking his head. He should've known- the kid was crazy, what else was new. He'd recently took up blind flying as a hobby, of course the stampede of yetis had just been another thrill seeking adventure for the spirit. Then it suddenly hit him that he could- and most probably would- go and try to do it again. He opened his mouth to tell him no way was that happening, when Jack spoke again.

"I'm just messing with you." He smirked. But was he? Bunny thought. Who could ever really tell with Frost.

He was worse than an annoying little brother- he had no sense of danger or dignity, and, man in the moon, he gave him a heart attack sometimes. But, you know what, he'd needed a breath of fresh air in his life- he just wasn't quite expecting an arctic storm of it. The kid was one mad whirlwind.

"Now come on- to the trampoline!" He declared, jumping onto his head. Worse than a little brother? He thought- nope, he WAS that annoying, little brother. He was going to irritate him like hell,but that just meant he'd just have to irritate him back for it someday. "Onwards, my grey stallion!" He commanded, jokingly.

Bunny raised an eyebrow. 'Stallion', huh? Well, he guessed it was better than 'kangaroo', he thought.

And anything beat 'Gramps'.

Merry Christmas Wolfan Terror (and Happy Birthday)


	6. Chapter 6

Through the screens- for Random-Fangirl-is-Random

I was lying on my bed in a mildly entertained, mildly bored stupor- mindlessly browsing YouTube. Refreshing my 'subscriptions' two or three times over and over- even though I'd literally done the same thing thirty seconds ago (you never know, someone could've put something up since then- not that I actually expected it). Surely enough there was nothing new. I switched over onto the YouTube homepage- only really paying attention to the 'recommended' and 'watch it again' sections, but nothing piqued my interest.

Sighing, I pushed the button to send me back to the home screen (a dragon silhouetted against a sunset stood behind the apps- the same background I'd had for a few years now). I decided to do my usual rounds, before probably going back to YouTube- no doubt I was going to go through a random chain of suggested videos. Or maybe I'd get the motivation to be productive and write something.

The little scaly menace at the bottom of my bed rolle dover, muttering something about 'berries' and 'blue ones'. I reached out and stroked his warm, smooth scaled- my little Valledor always brought a smile to my face, and he always looked so sweet when he was asleep. The little, green ball of dragony energy had tired himself out doing what I had no idea, but he was fit to drop when I came him- not later he actually did flop on the floor, and I had to carry him up here. I checked he wasn't near the edge of the bed (I didn't want him falling off again- it'd be the third time this month). Then, leaving him to his slumber I went back to my phone.

I tapped into my email account, waiting a few seconds to make sure the words 'checking for mail' had popped up at the bottom, then heading straight into Rise of Berk as it updated.

I absentmindedly collected the varying amounts of fish and wood off the dragons; resending the ones that had stopped on their usual duties; checking if anyone had finished training recently... My phone buzzed with the confirmation of an email. Secret excitement and hope grew within me, the same way it always did. If it was Pinterest, or stupid Facebook, again, I was going to be annoyed- but maybe (just maybe)... there was always the chance of a YouTube comment. Better still a review, reply or PM.

I finished my checks around Berk: Hiccup and Toothless hadn't come back yet, no new card pack, any new sales from Johan? Ooh, yes... but everything cost runes. I scowled- useless. I ran through the quests (for no apparent reason), scrolled around the island, checked the 'collections' (only ten items away from the Red Death, I thought impatiently). Could I afford any of the suddenly absurdly high feeds? Nope. Alright- time to check on that email.

I tapped on the blue envelope, and waited for the screen to load. The word fanfiction in bold caught my attention the moment it popped up- a blue dot marking it as new. I grinned, sitting up- my excitement only building when I saw the letters PM. Yes! Who was it?... Random Fangirl is Random, I read. Also known as WizardryBitch, angelkiller2000, and probably one or two other names I'd forgotten- oh wait, there was also Emmapeace (and probably another too, but that was all I could remember). (Authors note: not her actual name) But, IT HAD ONLY BEEN FOREVER! I didn't even want to think about how long it'd been since we last talked (darn school and it's time, energy and will sucking evilness- stopping their talks of Pookas, pranks, dragons and randomness). I couldn't wait to see what she'd said.

I tapped into the email... And suddenly ended up in something which looked like a set from the matrix (or so I assumed, I hadn't actually seen the Matrix- or many live action films for that matter, I was all about Disney and Dreamworks).

The room was blank and somewhat pixelated with grid lines running the length of it like some kind of simulator... I blinked. Yep, still here. What the (self censor- bleep) just happened?! I thought. Valledor snapped his head up, muttering snippets of confused questions as he looked around.

"Yes! Nice one, Seb." I heard someone congratulating behind me. Wait, someone else was here? I turned to see a girl around my age and height standing there, grinning. She looked at me like she was incredibly excited that I was here, (something a house hermit with no social life like myself found weird- not that I hated people, I just never went out much). Her eyes darting about me with a sort of 'can't believe it worked' expression on her face.

"Erm, hi." I said. Valledor jumped up onto my back to scramble up my jumper until his rear legs were stood on my shoulders as he balanced on top of my head (where he usually went for nosing). "What just happened?" I asked. It felt a little awkward I couldn't call her by name- but then I had a weird thing about never using names anyway, I was so terrible at remembering them.

"Seb used his magic to bring you in here- this giant... online... chatroom... place." Wait, did I just slip into the future? I wondered HOLD UP, DID SHE JUST SAY MAGIC?!

I probably should've freaked out- said it was a dream, it wasn't real, blah blah blah- instead I fangirled. I mean, I've always believed in stuff like this- and have only been dreaming for something like this to happen for like my ENTIRE LIFE! (Plus, when you live with a baby dragon, denial of magic isn't something I tend to do- not that I have much experience). Please say this was going to be an adventure, I thought- I'd always wamted something an adventure in my life. Hold on, she said the name Seb... Seb... Seb... The name rung a bell, but I was so overwhelmed and excited at the moment, I just couldn't place it.

"Wow.." I muttered, grinning as I wandered about. "This is amazing!" I marvelled, slowly turning round to take in more of the place. I probably should've been asking more questions- like how I'd got here, what was going on, how do I get out- but, I was just enjoying myself. I could worry about that later- I wasn't in any hurry to leave, the place was awesome!

I suddenly found a giant, levitating snowflake in my face.

"What the?" I muttered, still grinning in awe of everything as I stepped back so it wasn't in my face anymore. Somehow, the snowflake looked disappointed (no idea how- it wasn't like it had expressions), like it'd expected me to jumpscared (yeah, people had been trying to do that to me for years- it just didn't work on me).

"Ooh ooh ooh!" Valledor called, batting at the snowflake with his paws, wobbling as he tried to stay perched on my head, while still trying to reach the floating ice flake. What else was there in here I hadn't noticed at first I thought, examining the place again, more closely. I noticed a black cat sat on the floor- it was wearing a 'touch me and kill you' look on its face. Also, behind the girl there was a chestnut furred rabbit looking at her exasperatedly it seemed to be saying 'can I (insert thing it wanted to do here) now?'.

Okay, this place was beyond amazing. So many incredible (if somewhat sassy) creatures here. "What are these guys?" I wondered, following the snowflake as it darted round my head. Valledor giggling, eventually abandoning his post on my head to leap at the giant snowflakes. He missed, but he didn't let that deter him- he leapt up at it

again and again in an attempt to catch it. It was just like with butterflies, I thought, he never could leave them alone either.

"They're avatars." The girl explained, in answer to my question. "You can choose however you look in here, so..." She started explaining.

"Hold on, you can be anything?" I repeated, getting an ridiculously amazingly brilliant idea in my mind... Okay- calm down. No big deal- it's only all my childhood dreams come true if this works. I pictured a beautiful, sky blue dragoness... and opened my eyes.

I looked down to see scaly blue laws come into view. MY blue, scaly paws. I was a dragon...

I WAS AN ACUTUAL DRAGON!

I went completely joy mad- jumping about crazily, testing out my wings. THIS WAS JUST TOO INCREDIBLE! So what if this was only an online, digital avatar... thing. This was un. Be. Liev. A. Ble. Valledor roared with delight as he caught sight of me- getting just as excited as I was- flitting about me like a hyperactive bumblebee. The girl jumped up and down, just about containing a squeal as she watched.

"Aww! That's so adorable. Can I pet him? Please- please!" She begged. No point asking me, I thought- I had almost no control over the little, green whirlwind. Apparently he did want a hug though- he practically dove at her, snuggling into her arms, then squirming slightly as she stroked behind his ears.

Then, she found his belly plates. He accidently let slip with a giggle. That did it.

"Oh, are you ticklish here?" She teased. He shook his head in denial- tough dragons like him didn't get ticklish. "Yes you are! Yes you are!" She grinned, endlessly tickling his sensitive stomach as he wriggled about in her grip, in fits of giggly laughter. "Who's the most adorable dragon ever? Who's the most adorable?" She baby talked. I just watched with a broad smile on me face- I loved seeing him enjoy his little, excitable self.

The snowflake flew about my face and started pestering me again, blocking my view of he scene. I figured it must be some annoying troll person behind that one.

".. Aren't you, Valledor. Aren't you." She cooed. I blinked. Wait- how had she known-? "How do you know his name?" I asked, suddenly (randomly) remembering that she'd called this place a chatroom- and I had got here through an email from ... A sudden possibility occurred to me.

"Wait, do I know you?" I asked.

She grinned enthusiastically at me. I took that as a yes.

"Come on, we've been talking for ages!" She exclaimed, willing me to figure it out. Talking. Me. Was she sure she knew me? I really wasn't much of a talker- although, wait, online I wasn't too bad, I had kept up quite a few conversations with people (not on the usual places like Facebook and Twitter though YouTube and , I was special that way). But who did that mean she was?

Lunarcatninja never failed to reply- although, I had had some pretty awesome random rambles with babble buddy . .head. What about VDlovesbooks- hadn't heard from her in a while but you never know. Or it could be I'mthelonelylife or Lovelaughliveyourlife (hadn't heard from them in a while). Or maybe WolfanTerror? Possibly, but we didn't really talk that much. What about Graywhiteshadows? Naa, I hadn't known them for 'ages'. (Authors note: shoutouts to all you amazing people!^^)

Who was it? For all I knew it wasn't even someone on . Wow- I never really realised how many friends I'd made on that sight, that was incredible.

"I'll give you a hint." She said. "That's Sebastian- that's Eve- and the snowflake attempting to freeze your butt is Jack." She told me. I jumped, yelping, as a sudden bite of ice froze my rear.

"Hey!" I exclaimed breathing out a rush of blue dragon flames at it (ooh YES! I could even breath fire?!Ooh this was so COOL- and that didn't even cover it!) I mentally chuckled that my first connection I made with the name 'Jack' was Frost (I was such a nerd), but then, I suddenly realised... Wait- was that actually-?!

Then I realised who Sebastian was. I didn't make the connection with him alone- but then when I heard the name Eve, it suddenly clicked. I knew Sebastian- and Eve! They were Random-Fangirl- is-Random's 'OCs'! So that meant that-!

"Oh my god!" I marvelled, my jaw dropping open. She laughed at my response. Oh, no way- I can't believe it! ... I lied- I could believe it- it was actually happening right here! She was actually there! Virtually, yeah, but it beat words on a screen.

What do we do now? Hug? No, that would be weird. Would it? Fortunately I didn't need to decide- unfortunately, that was because the giant snowflake was attempting to fly into my dropping mouth.

"Jack!" I exclaimed. The snowflake backed off, having had its fun, and turned into the more familiar form I knew him by- the white haired delinquent. Now the guessing game was over, I guessed he didn't have to hide anymore. "Don't make me set Valledor on you." I warned. I had a good idea of what he could, would and wanted to do right now, and the threat was more than necessary.

"Oh really." He replied, raising a skeptical eyebrow- looking amused at the 'threat'. Well, it looks like he'd couldn't keep his sly comments back any longer I thought. "The army that is." He said sarcastically, smirking as he watched the young dragon bounce about playfully in front of the black cat that clearly wanted no part in his games. He thought Valledor wasn't very dangerous? Think again. I almost felt sorry for him- he didn't know what was coming.

I whistled.

"Valledor!" I called. His head shot up, as he looked over. I pointed at the Guardian. Valledor's face lit up with glee, as he charged at his newly appointed playmate. Jack's look of confusion soon turned to panic- and he wasn't quite quick enough to avoid the pouncing dragonet. Thus, he ended up with a scaly limpet swinging off his hoodie, as he ran madly about the place in an attempt to displace him. That wasn't going to happen, Valledor stuck to him like glue.

Emma (I actually remembered her real name- though only because it was the same as mine) started laughing hyterically- almost rolling on the floor it was so funny. (Authors note: still not her name- or mine, but we do share the same name). I heard a somewhat derisive huff, and wasn't surprised when the cat started speaking. It turned into a young woman wearing somewhat gothic clothes, a tutu and a strip of orange and purple in her Raven black hair. We hadn't officially met, but she'd joined in our online chats often enough for me to call her a friend (against her insistances) All Hallows Eve.

"Hey Eve." I grinned. She scowled like she didn't want to have to be bothering with this human interaction.

"Hi." She answered, reluctantly. Yeah- she always acted this cold. She pretended like she hated everything, but she didn't really- and she was actually really nice (though if you said that outloud she'd probably turn you into a toad). "Could you stop your pest annoying me, it really gets on my nerves." She scowled, talking about Valledor's recent attempts to get her to play with him.

"Aww, come on, you know you love him really." I smiled. She was a bit of a strange one. If she ever did enjoy something, she always did it secretly. But there was one, small way you could tell if she secretly liked something- she'd go silent, like she had right now. I moved on from her, picking up on her 'I am done talking, now go away before I set some skeletons on you' vibe.

It was then I realised someone was missing. "What about Agafya?" I asked, looking around, but I couldn't see anything that might represent North's wife- although she was ridiculously good at stealth, she could just be hiding in plain sight. "

"You know her." Emma explained. "She's off questing for something or another." Oh, okay. That made sense, I thought, remembering the wild warrior's taste for adventure. She could be doing literally anything right now- and I was talking the Indiana Jones kind of anything, not knitting and baking (although she did make some mean cookies).

Finally, I addressed the only person I hadn't yet spoken to. Sebastian- the moon rabbit- Tooth and Bunny's old spiritsitter. The rabbit became a thirty(ish) year old man with brown hair and a kindly disposition.

"Hey Seb. You been keeping Jack out of trouble?" I asked, knowing full well no one stood a chance at that.

"Oh no- I don't to even want to try and keep him out of trouble. I am not being responsible for everything he does, I'd never get a moment's peace." He told me. Sounded about right, I thought. No one could keep Jack under control- in that way, he was a lot like the dragon that clung to his head like a peculiar hat. Emma burst out into renewed laughter as she spotted the winter spirit's new scaly accessory.

"Is there anything we can do in here?" I asked, ideas for conversation reaching zero already (yes I was that bad whenever I didn't have time to think of and type a response). She stifled her laughter.

"Yep." She confirmed. "We can do anything." Her eyes widened the moment she finished speaking, like she'd suddenly come up with the most brilliant idea. A slow smirk spread across her face as she raising her foot and stomped heavily on the ground.

The blank, pixilated grids vanished, and a giant green space rippled out from under her foot (so it was a simulator as well as a chatroom, I thought- or maybe a sandbox, who knows). Hold on, I thought. I recognised this...

"No way..." I breathed, amazed.

The Warren.

Wait- I suddenly caught onto her trail of thought. Oh yes! This was brilliant! Now we could mess it up, just like we always talked about! We could actually enact out fiendish plans to paint the entire room and freeze the rivers (and that was just the beginning). That was exactly what she had in mind when she created this place- I knew it for sure. I grinned.

"Please tell me there is a giant rabbit in here." I said.

"Not the real one- but I did make an NPwotsit who'll chase after us with boomerangs if he finds us, so we don't wanna get caught." She grinned. Now this was a real adventure. Challenge accepted. I willed my avatar to turn back into my regular human self, for various reasons (including colour, size and clumsy wings I wasn't used to).

Jack came wandering over and crouched in the bushes with us as we began surveillance for the rabbit (dragon still attatched to his head).

"Erm why are we in the Warren?" he asked. "Please say we're going to mess some stuff up." He smirked. We both took one look at him, and then just burst out laughing. We couldn't help it- Valledor just looked too funny, perched there like a living hat! The spirit looked ridiculous!

"I'm sorry, I just have to get a picture of this." Emma grinned, pulling a phone out of thin air (or probably code or something), and Jack immediately dove behind me, to hide from the lens.

"No no no- that is not happening. Nope." He protested.

"You guys going to get caught in seconds, you know that?" Eve told us, wearing a look of amusement on her face before she took off as a sleek, black Raven to watch things unfold from above.

"She's right, we need to move." I told them.

"Not until I get a picture of this." Emma said, determinedly.

"Not until you get this lizard off my head." Jack grumbled. Said dragon didn't like the name 'lizard' and promptly started gumming his head, completely coating his snowy white hair in saliva.

"Hey- eurggh! Stop, no! Oh, that is gross!" He squirmed. Emma secretly snapped some pics.

"Not to alarm you." Sebastian pointed out, casually leaning against a tree. Of course he was calm- he didn't have a problem here. The rabbit wouldn't suspect a thing if he saw him in here- he only had to take one look at us or Jack to get suspicious, or kick us out (yes, I knew this was a virtual game, but I got the feeling it would be just as realistic as, well, reality. "But I believe I can hear company heading this way right now." He informed.

Uh oh. Run, I thought, but Emma had a better idea.

"Wait! Valledor- go play with the Bunny!" She told him. Oh- brilliant! That was genius! What they really needed was a distraction- and they didn't come bigger, or harder to get away from, than Valledor. The young dragon tilted his head, confused.

"Aren't we meant to be hiding from the rabbit?" He frowned.

"Exactly." I told him. "That's why you have the special job." His eyes went round, as he mouthed he words 'special job' in awe. "Your job is to make sure he doesn't find us." I said. "But don't tell him." I added- suddenly seeing a situation where Valledor ended up the Bunny he was distracting him. He nodded happily, sticking out his chest in pride of his special mission.

"Top secret." He promised, nodding. He flew off into the Warren's bumpy hills.

"That should hold him for a good few hours." I grinned. "What first?" I asked. Emma smirked back, devilishly.

For the first time in forever (Frozen pun intended) we'd met up. For real. We had so much to do- and literally anything was possible in this virtual world. I should write a story about this, I thought to myself. Because this was going to be epic.


	7. Chapter 7

Wish granted- for Lunarcatninja

He slid effortlessly along the top of the wooden roof, looking down at the village sprawled out below him, his soft, white hair shining softly in the moonlight. This year he'd been given the job of giving the Christmas Wish to someone- which was a pretty huge deal.

The Christmas Wish is a handful of special, magical moon dust that they sprinkled on a worthy person on Christmas Eve. It would then make all their wishes come true for a few hours. The effects varied on each person- he'd seen someone bring a relative back as a ghost for those few hours- and, this year, it was down to him to decide who deserves it.

He'd seen a lot of people in his lifetime- people who'd done good; that'd done bad; those which had done a bit of both; or neither, and we're just sort of neutral. But, he already had someone in mind- and he was doing things a little differently. He wasn't basing his decision on 'naughty or nice' like North did (the older guardian was busy, and had asked him to perform the important duty in his place). He was choosing based on hardship.

Anyone could do something nice- it took true strength to do good, when all else seemed to be lost... and he'd found just the person. He'd been watching this man his whole life- seeing him grow from his teens to early thirties.

He'd had his mother kidnapped as a baby and lived with an overprotective father he thought didn't believe in him. As a kid, been alone and almost despised- the scrawny, weak kid in a village of beefed up dragon killers. He'd been rejected and thrown out by everyone, and lost everything, including his best (and, at the time, only) friend... But he didn't give up- and he did something incredible. He fixed the old feud between his people and the dragons, and spent his entire life maintaining that peace. It seemed every day he had to solve some kind of problem, facing near death or disaster on a daily basis.

Then, at the age of twenty, he'd finally found his mother- only to lose his father, and everything he'd devoted his life to... and yet, he still didn't give up. He carried on fighting, and saved the village- yet again- and became their chieftain. He brought about a new era of peace... And not just for his village. After the events that had lead to him becoming chief, word began to spread about the village coexisting with dragons- and he became an envoy of peace, speaking on the dragons behalf.

Now, after many long, hard and dangerous years, there was barely an island in the archipelago that didn't have its own dragons... and it was all thanks to him. He was even a father now, bringing up a child of his own- but he still found time to deal with the villages problems, and spend time with his daughter.

He dropped down, hooking his wooden staff onto the ornate carving at the head of the house, landing lightly on the windowsill. He crouched down to peer inside- surely enough, he was there- lying asleep with his strong, blond wife at his side. Nestled between them was their daughter- apparently she'd had a nightmare (he'd better see Sandy about that). He smiled as he remembered the kid- she acted every bit as tough and fearless as her mother, but at heart she took after her father.

Also in the room were two snoozing dragons- one black as night, curled up in the corner, rumbling softly; the other settled on the other side of the room, scales sky blue. He eyes both of the winged lizards carefully- he didn't want to wake up anyone, especially not them. He'd better be quick. He opened the small pouch he'd carried all the way to Berk, and a bright, sparkling light shone out of it, illuminating the ceiling.

He looked once again at the man he still remembered as that scrawny, young boy... and smiled. Yeah, he decided. He was definitely deserving of this. After devoting his whole life to his people and the greater good, it was time for him to get something back in return.

He strode through the snow, feeling the crunch of the frozen rain beneath his foot and stump. But then he suddenly turned back.

"Are you sure you don't want-?" He began.

"Hiccup, I swear- you will go into that forest and enjoy yourself- or I'll get Stormfly, and fly you in there myself!" She threatened, her arms folded uncompromisingly at him- until she got out her famous axe and held it out towards him, sharp end first.

"Okay, but I could just-." He tried to say. He really didn't mind helping the village prepare for Snoggletog- and he didn't really want the girls to have to cover for him- he could stay, it was no bother really-. He recieved a not too gentle shove in response.

"Go!" The strong, little brunette commanded. He smiled down at his daughter- strong as her mother, and just as stubborn as her grandfather, he thought.

"Alright." He said, admitting defeat- how could he expect to win with both women against him? "Come on Toothless." He called to his old friend, walking off into the woods. The black dragon followed.

Good old Astrid, he thought as he walked. Taking up all the Snoggletog preparations so that him and Toothless could have an hour or two just to themselves- just like the good old days. He heard distant snow scuffling, then the squawk and wingbeats of a Nadder taking off... and he knew they were gone.

He sighed, taking in the blissful silence. When you'd been the village chief as long as he had, you came to appreciate the peace and quiet. This was what he'd really needed this Snoggletog: a brief respite from the rest of the village, if only for a few hours. And better still, when he got back, he knew he had Astrid's delicious roast boar dinner to look forwards to. Yep, he thought, today's shaping up to be one great Snoggletog.

He carried on walking deeper into the forest, with toothless at his side- just enjoying each other's company under the peace and calm of the trees. He rubbed a hand across the back of the Night Fury's head.

"Remember when it was just you and me, bud?" He queried. The dragon rumbling happily as he thought back to the quieter, freer years when they weren't chief and alpha- not that they hated life now, but it was nice to think back to the good old days. "We used to go exploring like this all the time- the map actually fit in my pocket." He remembered. It seemed strange to think it had once been a single, smallish piece of 'added to' parchment- it had grown into a giant, floor filling map of all the archipelago and the lands beyond, as thick as a book when folded up (and it took almost a full minute to unfold completely).

He walked on, until heard sudden, unexplained gust of wind whistle by the trees to his right. He turned to look, expecting to see a Terror perched on the bare tree, but there was nothing there. He frowned, confused... then shook his head- Thor only knew why the winds did what they did. He went to carry on moving, but then stopped in his tracks, staring at the ground. Since when had there been writing there?

Seconds ago the snow had been soft and unbroken- where had this come from? Was it a sign from the Gods? His brows furrowed as he read the lines in the snow... it said.

"...Night Fury..." He read out loud, confused- then he must've blinked or something, because the world suddenly shifted. "What the-?" He muttered, then froze. Was there a dragon roaring along with him? He searched the sky only see it empty- and he knew Toothless' roar, that was not his. "Oka-." He stopped- there it was again! What was going- wait... Why was he stood on all fours like he was about to crawl through a tight space?

He swung his head down... then leapt back, a startled roar reaching his ears- except, he realised, he wasn't just hearing it... he was making it. He was the one roaring- and he was on all fours because they now seemed to be jet black, clawed and not all that adapted for standing on two legs. Looking past them, he was sure he could see a tail... and that meant that... He turned his head side to side, stretching out wings that seemed to have suddenly appeared on his back, but somehow seemed to spread so easily... it was like moving an arm...

This was... This was incredible... He thought, staring at his wings- in pure awe and wonder at the huge, wind shaping devices. He softly beat them experimentally, and felt the air buffet around him... Wow... Unbelievable... Just amazing! This was what it was like to have wings... He could feel the strength in them... He bet he could swing them down and lift himself straight up into the open sky with barely any effort- and wow he was so tempted to try, but first he curled his new tail around him. It didn't feel quite as natural as his wings, for some reason- it was like it was missing something... Oh. That was why.

Where the tail fins spread out to help steer the wind, one was skin and flesh- the other was made of strengthened leather ( it was the same material as the shoulder pads on his armour- and even had the same red horned creature painted on it). It was completely different to the one he'd made for Toothless, but design was remarkably familiar- and it wasn't just a tail fin, he noticed, following a long, leather cord up and towards his... well, he supposed it was a foreleg rather than an arm now, but either way it circled it with some kind of metal frame that he knew so well- he'd made one identical to it with his own hands. If he looked far enough, he could even see the straps and stirrups that indicated a saddle- but why was he wearing that? He thought. It wasn't like there was someone here to ride him- there was only him and Toothless here... Toothless.

He turned towards the place he'd last seen the Night Fury, calling out he dragon's name- it came out as a roar, but hopefully that just meant Toothless would understand it even better. Hold on, it looked like him and Toothless weren't the only ones around here- there was another man over there. He looked a similar size and height to Hiccup- they might even be same age- and, wow, weird... he even had a missing half of leg like he ha- well, used to have. He had wild, ebony black hair and startlingly cat like, green eyes. He was staring at his hands like they were the strangest things he'd ever seen- and he somehow... seemed... familiar.

"Do I know you?" He wondered, the sound coming out as a questioning rumble. The man looked up at the sound. His eyes widened as he took in Hiccup- he probably hadn't seen a Night Fury before Hiccup thought- Toothless was the only one anyone knew about. Yes, he'd figured out he was a Night Fury- he knew his dragons, especially his bud. He guessed it has something to do wth reason that message on the ground which had now mysteriously vanished. Maybe it was magic- or the work of Thor, he didn't know- all he knew was that it was incredible. Wait, speaking of Night Furies... Where was Toothless? He was just here a minute ago- and it wasn't like he could fly away without him riding-...

And then something seemed to slowly dawn on the both Hiccup and the man in front of him... They did recognise each other- in fact, they'd known each other for a long, long, time. Hiccup watched, in a stunned daze, as the man took a few steps towards him... This was just unreal... No way...

Was this really Toothless?

He stared, wide eyed, up at his constant, ever loyal companion. The man seemed to feel it too- this human looked nothing like Toothless, and this dragon even less like Hiccup... But somehow... they still recognised each other... they'd spent almost their whole lives together- they knew their flying partner when they saw them.

Slowly... mesmerisingly... the man lifted up a hand... to reach towards the dragon's soft, black snout. Hiccup looked up at it... The air seemed frozen by some incredible feeling- like the whole world was holding its breath... He lifted his head up to meet it soft, pink hand. The silky, smooth skin felt so soft on his rough, reptilian scales... It was so strange... but so right.

He opened his eyes again to see catlike, green human ones staring back at him... Toothless... He thought- it really was him. He recognised those big, green eyes anywhere. Hiccup grinned- this was just amazing. He was a Night Fury, and Toothless was human. Toothless tilted his head at him.

"Is that what I look like?" The former dragon murmured. His voice sounded a little weird, like he wasn't quite used his new voice box (or maybe that was just Hiccup's new ears). Then Hiccup realised, he was probably doing the exact same smile his dragon was always trying to replicate. That goofy, toothy grin that always made him smile. He chuckled a dragon laugh- the sound only making him laugh even more.

Hold on... he was a dragon... and Toothless was a human... He had wings... and Toothless had feet... Why hadn't he thought of this sooner?! He had no idea, but suddenly he just couldn't wait any longer. He could go flying! Actually flying! And no way was he doing this without his bud with him.

"Get on!" He told him, gesturing the saddle with his large, flat head- even if he didn't understand his roar, there was no way he could misinterpret that. Toothless grinned and ran towards him- somewhat clumsily, as he wasn't fully used to walking on half the feet he normally did. He climbed into the saddle (again awkwardly, as he really wasn't using to the movement- at all), and slid his foot into the tail mechanism. Then the click behind them made them realise... this might not be as simple as they thought.

Hiccup cursed mentally- Toothless didn't understand the mechanism! He didn't know what position did what- and they'd crash without it being worked properly! How were they supposed to-?! He heard a quiet zip of leather moving through metal loops, and the click of the mechanism as it changed. He saw Toothless tilting his foot back and forth, watching to see what effect it had on the tail. As he leaned his foot forwards, the cord tightened, pulling the fin upwards. As he tilted it backwards, the cord loosened, lowering the fin.

"Got it." Toothless said, confidently. What? Hiccup thought. He didn't seriously think he'd-?! "Go up!" The former Night Fury yelled excitably. Hiccup looked at him, nervously. Well... if he was sure... he trusted his dra- rider. Okay...

He lifted his wings up to the highest peak, so they were almost vertical to the ground... Then swung them down with all the strength he could muster. They shot up into the air so fast the trees vanished in an instant. Wow! He didn't think his wings were that powerful! Thor almighty- that was easier than lifting one of Gobber's swords! He beat them again- this time not so hard- and they stopped climbing quite so quickly, but they were still going up at considerable speed. Alright- try again, he thought, attempting a slower wingbeat... They almost stopped rising, but he could still feel the drag of the air pushing down on him as he pushed them up through it... Maybe he wasn't supposed to do anything, he thought... What happened if he just stopped flapping... and let the wind currents catch beneath his wings?...

He stopped beating his wings, and spread them out to their fullest length...

The force of air against them vanished... and he found himself gliding effortlessly through the air. He was flying... Soaring through the clouds with magical ease. Instinct moved his wings to gently push the air every so often to keep them from tipping, but he barely had to even think about it... This was so amazing... This wasn't anything like his flight suit- this was real flying... It felt so natural- so incredible! Flying with his suit, he could feel the strain of the wind on the leather and his arms as he forced the air to keep him up- now... he was flying with the wind. Shaping it so smoothly, the flight he barely felt a jolt. He could feel the air under his wings, whipping along his tail, flowing over his pointed head... It felt so different with dragon scales... He was sliding through the air- as opposed to trying to force himself through it. The wind didn't drag or pull against him- it was effortless... Beyond anything he'd ever felt before... This was truly break taking... And Toothless was right- he really did have it all figured out. He altered the tail fin before Hiccup could even see changes in the wind coming- but, then again, the dragon knew what to look for. He knew how to work the real thing- he just had to adapt to adjusting the rise and fall of the fin with a tilt of his foot... and he was doing incredibly... He knew he should've never doubted him- his Toothless. His bud. They made an incredible flying team, no matter who had the wings...

This was just... Awe inspiring... Hiccup closed his eyes, his wings gliding through the embrace of the wind... It was everything he'd always dreamed... It was a Snoggletog miracle- the Viking that got to fly exactly as the dragons did... He'd always wished he could fly like Toothless did- that was the whole reason he invented the flight suit, but this was something else! It was beyond amazing- unbelievable- beyond any words he could even think of! Just... He gave up trying to think of a word, and just let himself enjoy the sensation.

He opened his eyes, and looked up into the land of the clouds that had opened up before him... It was so big, and it was his to explore- without restraint... He could be free... For the first time since him and Toothless were just teenagers... He could be free. Thank you, Thor, he thought- or whatever God had given him this magical moment... He really couldn't thank them enough... It was one of the best Snoggletog gifts he could've ever wished for... He felt like a child again.

He didn't know how long they'd been flying (it felt like minutes, but it had probably been hours) when he suddenly found himself without wings- arms sprawled across the wind like he was using his flight suit, but without the actually suit. One second: flying- the next: falling. He yelled, and would've panicked at the sudden drop, but he heard a familiar roar as a big, black blur shot past him, wings tucked in to dive below him.

He landed heavily on top of the Night Fury's warm, scaly back and slid his foot into the tail mechanism on impulsive... They carried on flying like nothing had ever happened... They really were interchangeable- one mindset, one being. His bond with Toothless was unlike any other.

He didn't have much time to decide what to make of the sudden change back into a human, because he was struck by something very strange in the sky. He blinked... Suddenly, just for a moment, he felt sure he'd seen the words 'Merry Christmas' written across the clouds... What did that mean? He thought- and what in Odin's name was a 'Christmas'?

Wait-... He blinked again, freezing motionless in the saddle... He felt like he'd been dropped into freezing cold water- numb dazed unable to bring himself to move... Mom... Dad?...

He stared at the now shapeless clouds.. He could've sworn that-... Just for a second, he'd-... He thought he'd seen their smiling faces up there, looking down at him proudly... His parents... He hadn't seen them since, well... Since they went to Valhalla. Valka had died a few years after Stoick- she was trying to save dragons from the rubble of a rockslide... and she never made it back from the mission. She hadn't been prepared for the aftershock that brought down a second wave of destruction... His only consolation was that now at least she could finally be reunited with his dad up in Valhalla.

He hadn't seen either of their faces for years- he'd only ever pictured them in his mind... Was that all just a part of his mind?... He wondered about it, but his heart spoke the truth... No... that was real. It was really them... telling you they were okay- telling you how proud they were...

He swallowed hard. Toothless rumbled reassuringly below him, and rested a hand gently on his neck... Had he seen it too?... It didn't matter... They were happy... And they were proud.

He let himself relax at the sound and soft feeling of the dragon's rumbling sides... Then his eyes left the clouds, and look down... He saw the entire island of Berk sprawling out before him- like he had so many times... from the back of a dragon. His island... his home... And he knew that somewhere, down there, was Astrid- and his dear little Frieda- working to make sure that everyone enjoyed their Snoggletog just as much as he was... Pretty soon they'd be getting ready preparations for the big Snoggletog feast in the Great Hall. Perhaps she was working on it right now- perhaps she was stood, side by side with Gobber, preparing all the food and the decorations for the evening feast, as he flew above the village...

He couldn't wait for the great feast- the perfect end to the perfect day. He hadn't quite been sure at first, but now he was certain. This was, still is- and will continue to be-... the best Snoggletog... he'd ever had.


	8. Chapter 8

A Christmas worth waiting Three Hundred Years- for VDlovesbooks

Snoggletog. It would always be Snoggletog to him- not that weird Chrissy name Jack had made up for it (he swore he was trying to get him to say it as a cheap laugh). Whatever the case- Snoggletog or Crismoss- it had been a great day so far. The dragons had left for the breeding island- and Fishlegs had volunteered to bring them back for the feast this year (actually he'd practically begged Hiccup to let him go). But, even with the dragons gone, it wasn't like things were miserable. One of the reasons for that was walking beside him right now.

They often said Loki, the trickster god, would be less of a handful than the winter spirit- and he'd more than lived up to that expectation today. Snowball fights had broken out left, right and centre (which on Berk was both a terrifying and dangerous activity). He'd turned the main square around the tree into an ice rink, without telling anybody, and left them to figure it out for themselves. And not forgetting the giant heaps of snow he dropped on people at random. The living snow dragon he sent stampeding through the village (only Toothless' fire had put an end to that one), and he was sure there were plenty more, but he was going to stop before he made his brain hurt.

The winter holiday was the when the trickster spent the most time here, and he won't deny it he made it some much brighter and more enjoyable. He cheered up a room just by being in it- or so it seemed to him anyway, Hiccup knew he certainly couldn't see the prankster without smiling. He was such a goof. But now Snoggletog was almost over- he always left this same night every year (something about winter and other places needing him). He'd give Berk it's last touch up of snow for the next few weeks, then leave.

At least he stayed for the Great Feast, he thought. Any meal with the winter spirit was always bound to be interesting, but the Snoggletog Feast was special. It was the one time they could get him to stop pranking- with the exception of a few flying sprouts, but nobody expected him to give stop completely. But he actually sat down with the rest of them, ate the meal (more to humour them than anything since didn't actually need to eat), and taunted, teased and chatted like every other Viking in the hall. He always looked forwards to this night- when he could talk with the winter spirit, and enjoy his company. He enjoyed talking to him- he made him happy- that's why they were headed to the great hall together.

Jack was walking on the wind just above the ground- for no reason other than to rub his flying privileges in everyone's face (especially now the dragons were gone, he loved infuriating the riders). He touched down though, as he entered the hall. Seeing the giant building all dressed up and full of bustling Snoggletog cheer always brought a broad smile to his face.

Jack grinned as he entered. Best night of the year, this was- without a doubt. A room full of friends, heaps of great food and a night with Hiccup. What more could he want? He thought, looking across at the Viking as they searched for a spot to sit down for a bit. Anywhere was fine by him, just so long as it was next to him.

He slid his hand towards Hiccup's, but recovered himself at the last minute. No. Stop. Get a hold of yourself- you know what happens if he finds out!.. But its just holding his hand- its not like it's incredibly romantic... He supposed he could- no, no! It's too risky! If he found out about his his feelings, he'd never look at him the same way again! He'd always be 'that weird guy that liked me'. He knew it was hopeless- he'd already dated Astrid years ago (although they had broken up ages ago, and almost nobody knew why). He was looking for a girlfriend- not him! He didn't stand a chance in hell! Hiccup would never feel the same way about him- and if he found ever out, he'd just keep looking at him like a creep. Everything would turn awkward between them, they'd barely be able to be near each other. In other words, he might as well leave, because Hiccup was the only reason he was stayed the month here- the kids were great, he supposed, but really he came for that dorky Viking. Even though it was stupid- even though he'd never feel the same way- just being by side was enough... Just to bring a smile to his face, make sure he was happy. Even if it hurt to see him so close, yet so far... it was worth the pain to see that smile.

He so badly wanted to reach for his hand right now. Do something- anything- to show him that he cared; reveal his true feelings that were desperate to be shown! He felt like he might explode from words he didn't say- and actions that he longed to do... Just three, simple words- forever at the tip of his tongue, but forever unspoken. He had to hide it from him- be a good friend, even though he wanted to be so much more. Every time Hiccup looked at him gave him the best and worst feeling. The butterflies. The warmth. That settling, like he didn't want to fly away anymore- he wanted to stay. All his life he'd been restless... but with Hiccup, all of that went away... and it terrified him, but.. he wouldn't have it any other way.

Although he'd rather have almost anything to that awful distance between them. Constantly having to restrain himself... It hurt. It hurt not being able to say those things that he so desperately wanted to tell him... But he didn't say them. He couldn't stand ever seeing the look on his face when he rejected him- and he definitely couldn't hear the words that say 'I DON'T love you'... it would surely shatter his heart. In fact, it hurt to be around him, knowing his feelings wouldn't ever be returned... But he didn't really care about himself. So what if it hurt to be around him- if could make him happy- if anything he did brought even a ghost of a smile onto the Viking's lips, it was worth the heartache.

He sighed, mentally... He really was in deep, huh... He couldn't help it. The Viking had been the first person to ever take even remote interest in him- and not just remote interest, but genuine. He'd made him feel like someone in his whole wide universe cared about him- even if not in the way he hoped. He'd always treated him like he didn't care about his cold touch, something literally every other spirit avoided him for- he'd even put up with all his stupid pranking! No one had ever bothered to stick around before- certainly not for this long. He'd always been alone... and now he was helplessly stuck on this Viking.

He'd taken away his loneliness, and stole his heart away with it- without even realising it.

"Hiccup!" He was brought out of his endless emotional tug of war between joy and pain, to see Astrid waving Hiccup over. The Viking grinned went over to sit next to her. The ex. Oh no- when he said they could sit anywhere, he meant anywhere but there. Anywhere but next to Astrid. So help him, he didn't want Hiccup anywhere near her- that was just rubbing salt in his bleeding heart.

Hiccup carried on walking, smiling as he stared a conversation with her... All the while, his heart slowly sunk in his chest... He was so clueless...

He almost left right there and then, until he spotted her hand resting on Hiccup's atop the table. All thought of leaving vanished. Suddenly he was furiously defensive over the Viking, even though he had no right to be. She's holding my hand! He raged. He ignored the voice of reason that said it wasn't really holding- they probably just ended up with their hands overlapping- and its not your hand anyway, it's Hiccup's!

He flew straight over there and dropped heavily onto the bench opposite them- feet up on the table, which he crossed with a loud bang.

"Nice chat?" He asked, the smile on his face just a little bit forced. That broke that up, he thought. They'd both jumped- all hands now off the table, and definitely not touching. But, most importantly, Hiccup was looking at him- not her. What are you doing?! This is stupid- you're being an idiot! What do you think you're going to accomplish by this?! Shut up logic, he thought, shooting the voice in its stupid face. There- logic was now out of commission until further notice. He was not responsible for his actions.

The Vikings carried on their conversation- this time including him- but whenever Hiccup seemed to be getting a little too involved talking to her, he butted in with some loud, pointless comment. Most the time he didn't even know what he was saying- anything to distract Hiccup from his ex. But his lack of anything to say meant that he was getting left more and more out of the conversation. How to keep Hiccup's attention away from the blond warrior now?! He came up with a solution.

He created a lump of snow in the rafters above his head, and whenever he and Astrid would start getting into a deep conversation, he'd let a drop fall on the brunette's head. Hiccup glared at him. It was not his fault- it was him! Pushing him to such desperate measures! Hiccup turned back to Astrid, only to soon have another drop land on his head. Jack looked at him innocently as he glared again. He knew full well it was him, but the spirit kept at it- and soon enough, he got his wish. Hiccup's eyes wouldn't leave him, even when Astrid spoke straight to him.

Yes, he was fighting for the Viking's attention with an ex, like a jealous girlfriend- he could not help himself!

Eventually, Hiccup had enough.

"Astrid, can you excuse us for a minute?" He asked. Oh no. Now he was in trouble. He stayed seated, as Hiccup stood up. He wasn't going- nope. He couldn't make- ow, ow! Apparently he could. Since when did he get muscles?

Hiccup dragged him outside where they'd make less of a scene, then he finally let go of his ear.

"What was all that about?" Hiccup demanded.

"All what?" He asked, playing dumb.

"You kept interrupting me and Astrid, when we were just trying to have a perfectly nice conversation." He explained.

"I was just joining in." He lied.

"You kept dropping snow, deliberately, on my head!" He told him, clearly getting more annoyed as the conversation went on, but it was nothing to how Jack felt. Why couldn't he see it? Why couldn't he just see what was going on here? But he must never know- he could never understand- he mustn't! He wanted to tell him, but he didn't want him to find out.

"I know you don't like Astrid much, but is it really so bad for me to have a conversation with her?" Jack went silent. It had nothing to do with disliking her- he was jealous. She'd got to say something he never could- that Hiccup was her boyfriend. She'd kissed him... He hated it- he hated that he was sunk as low as jealous, but he couldn't help it. He wished it was him that could say all that... But he never could.

Shut up... He thought to Hiccup- the idiot didn't have any idea what he was going through, or what he was saying. Just please stop talking... You're making it worse.

"Have I been ignoring you or something, is that it? What is the matter with you?! You been causing trouble for no reason this year ten times more than usual- the amount of times I've had to sort out your messes for you!" He said, raising his voice slightly.

"You wouldn't understand." Jack muttered. The reason was because his feelings seemed to have grown painfully strong since last year- and he kept redoubling his efforts to get Hiccup to notice him. Anything to grab his attention for a few, precious moments.

He stared at the floor, willing it to open up and swallow him- take him anywhere but here. He couldn't stand this- the unspoken words were breaking his mind trying to get free. His fists were balled tight from the pressure of it all.

"What wouldn't I understand?! Is there something going on here?" Hiccup yelled, getting frustrated by his cryptic sentences... He was so oblivious.. So painfully oblivious... "What aren't I understanding here? I can't know what's wrong, unless you tell me." Tell me.. the words and their silent plea almost pulled every last secret out of his mouth- the effort needed to hold back his words almost destroyed him, but he couldn't keep a few from bursting out.

"SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" He cried, aware he was beginning to tear up- water was brimming in his eyes.

"...You stupid idiot." He wept, dropping his head. "You don't see anything..." He sobbed, turning and running away into the forest.

A part of him wanted Hiccup to follow- the other never wanted to see him again. He didn't know where he was going- anywhere was good... Just so long as he didn't have that perfect Viking, unintentionally tearing up his heart.

Hiccup wandered back into the Great Hall in a daze... What exactly has just happened? It wasn't like Jack to just run off like that- let alone start yelling like that. He'd shouted like. he'd said something to hurt him... He hadn't said something, had he?... No... nothing that he could get mad at. He carried on walking back to Astrid- maybe she could figure out what had happened. He swore only girls were more complicated than that winter spirit sometimes, so who better to ask?

Astrid noticed the absence of the winter spirit and saw his face as he sat back down.

"What happened?" She asked, deadly serious. Hiccup decided to answer smartly.

"Um..." He said, having no idea where to begin. What exactly had happened? Her eyes widened.

"Oh my gods- you guys were arguing, weren't you." She said. What the?! Seriously?! Did she have some kind of extra sense for these things?

"No!" He said, defensively. "Well- yes- sort of?" He attempted to explain. He had no idea what it was- was it an argument? "I just asked him what his problem was, and he completely flipped at me." He said. Like, seriously, what in Thor's name was that all about?

"Well duh, genius- you completely ignored him and sat next to me." She explained, like it was obvious.

"Well, I know but you're a good friend, he's a good friend, why can't you just get along?!" He asked, exasperated.

She looked at him, jaw hanging open as though she was struggling to believe her ears.

"You did not just say that." She murmured. "Please say you didn't tell him that!" She said, fiercely. Him?! What had he done now?! This world was crazy- what had he said this time?

"What? You two getting along?" He queried, confused, because that was seriously all he could think that might've annoyed them. She rolled her eyes at the ceiling like she couldn't believe the extent of his idiocy.

"Gods- you really don't see anything, do you?" She muttered, half to herself. The words reminded him of what Jack said. What? Did she know what was going on?! Cos if so he'd love to hear it!

"So I've heard." He mumbled. "Look, what's going on? What's this big important thing I'm missing?" He asked. Some answers- any answers- right now would be brilliant.

"I don't suppose you even know about his feelings..." She mumbled. Hiccup started. Why did his heart suddenly do a flip at the word 'feelings'? "No, course you don't." She finished, answering her own question. "You can't even see your own." Own what?! Feelings? What feelings?! What was she going on about?! Why did all of this have to be so confusing?! And why was his mind racing?!

She sighed as though resigning herself to the fact he was an idiot, and attempted to explain.

"Think about it, Hiccup." She began. "When did Jack first arrive here?" She questioned. He blinked, even more comfused by the unexpected question. How was this related to what was going on?

"Erm...? About three years ago." He answered, still wondering how this was important.

"Right." She said. "And when did me and you break up?" Woah- WHAT?! She was bringing this up now?! Where did their old relationship fit into this- that was old news! They were over it- they'd moved on.

"Few weeks after that?" He guessed. "Look, what are you getting at?" She asked, wishing she'd get to the point already. Why was everyone speaking in confusing, stupid hints?!

She threw her hands up at the ceiling.

"Thor give me strength!" She exclaimed. "Stop using your head!" She told him. "Start listening to this thing already." She commended, shoving him in the chest.

"What?" He muttered. His heart?! What was she going on about? Listening to his-? Why would he listen to his heart?! And anyway, it wasn't saying anything! It was just beating like crazy- which made no sense, by the way. What was going-?! Gaah! Why did nothing make sense anymore?!

Jack was out there, all stressed and torn up- and it was all his fault- and she wouldn't even tell him what was wrong! Just tell me! He thought. Tell me what was wrong with him- what had I done wrong?! He had to know! He had to fix it! He couldn't leave him like he last saw him- all broken and about to cry! He just couldn't rest knowing Jack was out there in some sort of pain. His heart was going ten to the dozen just thinking about him! What was going on?! He couldn't make sense of anything anymore! His heart- his head! None of it made sense!

He stuttered vaguely, trying to make words to senseless middle of confusion- his heart was going mad! Why?! What was the problem?! What was going on?! Astrid groaned as she saw his confused rambling, and looked up at the ceiling

"Right! I've had enough of this!" She yelled.

"Jack loves you."

The words sent hundreds of electric butterflies racing through his body. He.. what? Jack... loved him?... His heart was racing, but this time not with confusion, with elation. Jack loved him... The thought made him feel like he was flying just like the winter spirit could. Astrid smiled at him.

"There." She said, satisfied. "Now don't me you didn't have a big idiot grin on your face when I said that." She smirked. Oh Thor, was he really grinning like an idiot? He couldn't help himself. Why had those words made him feel so happy?

"I don't understand." He muttered, confused. Astrid shook her head again, smiling this time.

"You really are blind as a bat." She muttered. "You love him too." She said.

He felt like he'd just been charged by a dragon, and yet...the impact didn't seem hard. The foundations of his world had been rocked by that statement.. and yet... at the same time... He felt the confusion settle, and a calm come across his mind. He felt like his was suddenly seeing everything with incredible clarity- his eyes had just been opened to the truth, and he finally understood what his heart was saying. Love... He loved Jack...

He'd never felt something so real in all his life. Everything came together with that final realisation. Everything the spirit meant to him- the things he'd make him feel with everything little thing he did. He thought back to when Astrid had mentioned their break up... It made so much more sense now. He'd broken up with her because he didn't see any interest in her anymore. She just couldn't seem to keep his attention, and he'd never really bothered to think about why... But now he knew... He broken up with her, because his heart had moved on to someone else. He could no longer see any attraction in her... because he'd started to fall for the winter spirit.

He remembered one day, when they'd been out together in the cove. Jack had been figure skating on the lake he'd frozen himself, Astrid had been practising her axe skills at one side... and, try though he might... he just couldn't seem to keep his eyes off Jack. Astrid's skill with the axe was just as unparalleled and perfect as ever... but he just kept finding himself drawn back to the skating spirit. His beautiful form, and ease with which he gliding on the ice, he almost danced across surface with flawless grace and beauty- something seldom seen in Viking society. But, more than that, he'd had such an entrancing look of concentration and, joy and fulfilment on his face... he found he just couldn't look away. His every turn and spin, every leap and change of foot was just breathtaking... and pretty soon, Astrid had faded from his mind altogether. All he could think about was the snow spirit's beautiful skating.

And beyond that, in the weeks he'd got to know the winter spirit, and every year since- everything he'd ever made him feel. Every frustration- every terror and stress his pranks had caused him- every endearing and every small apologetic gesture that always left him smiling. Every time he'd cursed his name, wanting to give the eternal prankster a real piece of his mind- the times where he'd do something amazing, and he'd make him feel special... like he was worth something. For someone who could barely lift a sword in a village of toughened warriors, it meant an awful lot.

That was what had really made him warm to the winter spirit- he never looked at, or treated him, like he was a disappointment. He'd believed in him right from the start- even before he knew about the dragons and how he'd stopped the war, he'd still looked at him like there was more to this skinny bag of bones than met the eye. Yes he drove him up the wall, but you know what, he didn't care. He loved every last stupid bit of him- he good and the bad. He might be a nightmare, but he was a nightmare he wouldn't change for the world... and he was his nightmare...

He loved him... She was right!

He had to find him! He had to tell him- he had to say it all- tell him everything he felt! All his emotions just kept bubbling up inside him- he felt like he just had to confess soon or else he'd explode! He stood quickly, knocking the stool over as he scrambled away from the table.

"I have to find him." He muttered, hurriedly. "I have to tell him!" He tripped over his metal foot in his haste to get out and stumbled back to his feet again.

"Hey, lover boy!" Astrid's voice stopped him in his tracks. His cheeks heated up- he really hoped nobody had heard that. She tossed a familiar length of wood towards him. His staff. He must've left it in here when he dragged him outside- he could still be on the island! He might even be close! He grabbed the staff off the blond Viking.

"Thank you, Astrid." He said genuinely.

He doubted his grin had ever been so big as he rushed outside as fast as he could. He ignored the winter chill, the cold was something to celebrate- the cold meant he was near.

"Toothless!" He called. The dragon had been playing with a bunch of kids outside- but Jack who normally never missed such a scene was nowhere to be found. He was probably still in the forest. He leapt onto the Night Fury's broad back as they headed into the sky. They stood a much better chance of finding him from the air. He had to find him, there wasn't a moment to lose.

Jack carried on walking, each step taking him both further away from and closer to heartache. Why did it have to feel so bad to walk away from him? Why did Hiccup have to be such an idiot and make him need to walk away in the first place? He didn't want to leave like that, but he couldn't stand being so close to him- not with his heart so desperately screaming the feelings he continued to hide. He couldn't know- he couldn't ever know- why did he want to tell him so badly?! Why did it hurt to keep these feelings inside?! It would only end in heartbreak and disaster. He couldn't tell him... Why did he have to be so hopelessly fallen for him.

He was stuck in an endless spiral of love and pain.

He froze as he heard wingbeats overhead. Please, he prayed, say that isn't a Night Fury. Tell me it isn't him- please!

"Jack!"

His chest compressed painfully at the voice. It was him.. Darn Viking- why did he have to go and make his heart flutter, and die. He didn't want to be near him, it was too painful- but still there was that longing, that need, to be near him that he just couldn't deny. He couldn't bring himself to run. Against his better will, he found himself stopping, rooted to the spot- helpless to whatever pain Hiccup would unknowingly cause him next.

"Jack- I have to tell you something!" He called, the sound of his footsteps in the snow moving closer. Jack squeezed his eyes shut. What? What did he have to say that was so important? He couldn't bring himself to turn and look at him- no matter how badly he wanted to do it, he couldn't stand the pain that would surely crush him if he did... So he stayed on that same spot, split heart wishing he'd come closer and go away altogether.

"Astrid explained everything, and I get it now! I understand why!" He ranted on without pausing for breath like, it sounded like he just had to unload everything and couldn't stop himself. Jack didn't care, it wouldn't like he was going to say anything that was going to change anything... and understand? He'd stood more chance of flying without a dragon than understanding.

"No you don't- you'll never understand." He told him, miserably. Hiccup stopped in his rant as he broke in, only to take it up again.

"But I do! I know!" Hiccup insisted, pausing as he struggled to find his words. Jack waited- doubt still heavy in his mind. He knew nothing of how he felt- how could he?

"I know how you feel." Hiccup said, softly.

Jack stiffened. He felt like a deer caught in the eyes of a hunter. He knew... He knew about his feelings?! He'd never been more terrified in his whole life. But if he knew that meant that-... Please- stop! Don't say anything else! Its bad enough already- please! Don't... don't throw it away... He knew how this would end- heartbreak and agony... but at the same time he couldn't quench the fragile hope that rose up inside, saying maybe- just maybe- he'll love him back...

"... And I ..." Hiccup started, pausing as his throat locked. Please- don't say it, Jack thought. He didn't want to hear this. He couldn't hear his words of rejection.

Hiccup couldn't believe this- he was literally choking on his own words! Why was this so hard?! Why couldn't he just tell him?! Just seconds ago, he'd been desperate to say it- and now the words just wouldn't come out. Come on! He told himself. Its just three words! Three words- just do it!

"I... like you."

He mentally kicked himself that he hadn't had enough courage to say it properly... but now it was out there. It was in the open... and suddenly he was afraid. What if Astrid was wrong? What if he laughed? What if he didn't love him?! Then he'd have to win him over. He'll find a way to get him to feel the same way, he'd just have to keep at it- be persistent; earn his trust, the way he did Toothless. Toothless?! What was his brain doing?! Jack wasn't a dragon! Although he might be less nervous facing an angry Nadder than Jack right now.

Jack dropped his head, his voice dead as he replied.

".. As a friend, right..." He finished. What? He thought. No! Oh Thor. Horror flooded him. He thought he was rejecting him! Odin, this couldn't be going any worse. Just say it! Say it, idiot, before you lose him! His voice refused to comply. He just couldn't speak! Why couldn't he speak?!

Jack started to walk away.

"It's okay, really... I knew you wouldn't feel the same..." He mumbled heartbroken. No! He's getting away! Look what you've done, idiot- do something! He's hurting!

Desperate, he dragged the hook of Jack's staff through a thick bush, a trail of leaves and berries snagging on it as he ran after the winter spirit. After him! Closer... and closer...

Hiccup's heart was pumping- and not from the sprint- it was was swelling so much he couldn't control it! All his emotions raged wild- he couldn't contain himself! A single wild urge raced through his mind- and before he knew it, he was at Jack's side, pulling the immortal teen's shirt to swing him round towards him...

...and closing the gap between their lips.

Jack froze. Hiccup was... Hiccup was kissing him?! Actually kissing him! Was this real? Was he dreaming?! But, if I am... please- don't wake me up... He thought. He didn't ever want to stop- he didn't want to let go... He wanted to live in this moment forever...

His heart finally opened up- finally releasing all the emotions he'd kept pent up inside and been denying for so long... He actually cared.. he loved him. Hiccup actually loved him. He felt his heart and mind melt like it was made of snow- Hiccup's warm touch turning his thought into an icy sludge.

He didn't notice the slow snowfall that had began to drift around them. Big, beautiful flakes slow dancing over their heads, and spiralling all around them... He didn't care- he didn't even see it... he was lost in the moment.

They finally released each other, to stare astonished into each other's eyes. They couldn't believe they'd just done that- Hiccup couldn't believe he'd just done that, but he'd seen him running he'd panicked and his heart had taken control... But it had felt right- and staring deep into each other's eyes, they saw both forest green and ice blue speaking a truth that went deep to their hearts... love.

Jack gasped in a laugh, as he was suddenly hit with overwhelming relief and joy- an uncontrollable smile splitting across his face... He couldn't believe it... He was so happy! But, wait- what was Hiccup holding? Jack followed his staff up to where the hook hovered above their heads...

"Is that holly?" He asked. He just couldn't help himself- it was so unexpected, and strange! Where, in the name of the moon, had that come from?! Hiccup blushed deep red as he looked down in embarrassment.

"It was meant to be mistletoe." He mumbled.

Jack slid his arms round him, taking his staff back as he did.

"You're such a blind idiot." He muttered quietly. Hiccup slowly looked up to meet his eyes, then followed them upwards as Jack glanced up at the hanging holly... Pure white snow crystals spread over each berry, turning each one from bright red to snowy white. Hiccup stared at at the tangle of leaves and white berries in wonder.

Then he looked back down at Jack, to find his eyes waiting to look into his again.

"There." Jack mumbled softly. "...much better..." He whispered, leaning in close. His heart soared as he felt Hiccup's arms wrapping around him, holding him close as their lips met once again...

He didn't ever want him to let go- he wanted to stay there, in his arms, forever... This Christmas had been worth three hundred years waiting for... He finally got to spend it with the one he loved- and know that he was loved in return... This was all he could've ever asked for- and more. Hiccup, in his arms.

Just the Viking and him, together... beneath the mistletoe.


	9. Chapter 9

So that's it for this year guys^^ I hope you like this little idea I came up with- and I hope you enjoyed the stories^^ I'll probably start them a bit earlier next year so it's not as mad a rush but I've really enjoyed this and I hope you have too ^^ yes I will be doing this again next year- probably on this same collection- it's been a great way to show my personal appreciation to you guys and make you all smile^^

Merry Christmas to all of you, whether you're just reading or reviewing- and whether one of these stories is yours or not- I wish you all a happy Christmas and I hope you all make the most of the holiday and enjoy yourself^^

Im really glad I did this- each of these stories challenged me in one way or another I've done tragedy, mindscape, bunny Jack, OCs and even my biggest challenge yet: romance. I really hope you enjoyed that one, it's my first time doing romance and even though I have zero self experience of crushes, boyfriends or kissing, I really did try, and I hope it turned out okay.

Anyways enough rabling- time to enjoy the holiday season^^ merry Christmas once again guys and I really hope you have a great time yourselves^^


	10. 2016!

Hey guys^^ so it's that time of the year again! So to say thanks for sticking with me through a pretty hectic (and embarrassingly inactive- sorry!) year- I'm taking Christmas requests again! Whatever story you'd like me to put up for you- any theme and any idea!

Anyone's open to ask. Please don't be afraid to make any requests- I don't bite! Consider it my annual round of Christmas gifts for you all! ^^ leave a review with your ideas!


	11. Chapter 11

A Hollow Christmas- for soinherownhead

 **Authors note: so here we are with the Christmas requests^^ I didn't get as many this year so I tried to compensate with length and quality. I did my best and had a ton of fun writing these so I hope you enjoy^^ first story goes to soinherownhead**

Tooth was all abuzz- even more so than usual. She just couldn't help it! It was just this time of the year- there was always special kind of feeling in the air that could only be described as festive. Even the Guardians very own Grinch had to be feeling it by now (despite his denial of its very existence, the season's sudden ability to make him tolerable of their newest member's torments said otherwise). Although, now she thought about it, she hadn't seen all that much of the usual taunting recently… maybe Christmas had finally taken away the harshness of the winter trickster's icy bite.

Regardless, just the thought that North would be setting off to fly through the skies, delivering presents to millions of children that had lost the battle to stay awake and see Santa-. She gave herself a quick shiver of pleasure- the snowy, suburban landscape around her allowing her to play off the gesture as a simple reaction to the cold. True to her word, ever since that fateful Easter where their number had grown with the addition of that one special little snowflake into their lives, she'd been doing her utmost best to integrate herself into the fieldwork once again. She absolutely revelled in the thrill and joy it gave her.

It had been such a long time since she'd felt that inescapable festive buzz in her bones (it just wasn't nearly the same back in her palace). She never even realised she'd missed so much in her self-imposed confinement! Oh, the nostalgia of seeing all those glittering lights and flashy decorations everywhere the eye could see. The hundreds of Christmas films that echoed softly in almost every house she visited- it was the tiniest little things… glimpses of cookies and carrots left to one side, the little signposts she sometimes saw requesting "Santa stop here"; just seeing all of it… Seeing the decorations, hearing the songs, smelling the candles- just experiencing Christmas… It had been far too long since she felt so festive.

For once she was determined to attend the Guardian's annual Christmas get together that had fallen apart dramatically over the centuries. Each one of them had slowly drifted away until even North abandoned the gathering in favour of a good, long nap. This time, though, she was adamant. She was attending- and she was going to make sure the others did too. Even if she had to drag that Eater loving rabbit to that table by the scruff of his neck, they were going to all sit down together and have a nice festive meal. She didn't quite know why she had the sudden urge to revive the old event this year- perhaps all this recent fieldwork had her nostalgic for the old days where would have such get togethers. Maybe it was just the Christmas spirit that refused to settle down… or maybe it was the stray, passing comment from a certain young spirit of winter wistfully wondering what it was like to be a part of the Christmas season that had sparked her determination.

Knowing now how the snow spirit had lived the past centuries of his life, she could guess how his Christmases had gone. He'd have fun, of course- that was one thing the trickster would make sure to always do- but amidst all the fun and games, and snowballs and sleighs… she knew there would've been that hollow feeling. Only ever watching the Christmases as an outsider- watching but never experiencing… it had to hurt. He, no doubt, felt the excitement of this time of the year, but that special heart at the centre of the season- that sense of home and belonging and spending time with loved ones, sharing gifts to show your thanks and getting gifts in return… that was something that Jack had never been a part of- however much he might've wanted it.

The more she thought about it, the more she doubted he'd felt that true feeling of Christmas that buzzed in her now. It made her sad to think that anyone would have to be alone on Christmas, but three hundred years stuck watching happy families while he stood outside in the cold? It was too much for her to even think about. So maybe that's why she was determined to make it special this year. She wanted to give him a Christmas to make up for the ones he'd spent alone. Every year the yetis set out the table in the hopes that someone might attend the Christmas dinner- it was even sadder now she thought about it- but this time, for the first time in half a millennium, all those seats were going to be filled. On her word as the Tooth Fairy, she was going to make sure of it.

In fact, she should probably make sure Jack hadn't forgotten about it. She was sure he wouldn't have (he looked so excited when she told him about it), but he was as slippery as ice and free as the wind- finding him could be a real pain, and she didn't want to be searching for him when they were supposed to be eating together. Besides, she'd be lying if she said she didn't want to take the excuse to break up her busy schedule to spend a bit of time with the winter spirit. She was sure he fairies could handle things for a while without her.

She expertly flew into the nearest house to slide her last coin underneath the pillow of a lightly dozing child- grinning at the soon to be filled stocking that hung at the bottom of the bed- and flew back out again, pulling a small whistle out of her work bag. This, in her opinion, was one of the best ideas Jack's had: a little bird call to keep her in contact with her fairies while she was out in the field. A light trill sounded as she gave it a little blow, and she waited for her fairies to respond.

Dutifully quick as ever, she barely had to wait a few seconds before a small number of them came to her call, greeting her with similar little trills and squeaks.

"I'm going to find Jack for Christmas dinner- could you take this back to the palace and look after things while I'm gone?" She requested kindly, taking her bag off her shoulder and holding it out to them. They stiffened at first but before she could wonder about it, they rushed forwards to take her bag- twittering reassurances that she didn't have to worry, they could handle things, they've got this. Smiling at their support, she thanked them and zipped up into the higher air that she knew the winter spirit favoured. She shivered- this time it really was because of the cold. It was even chillier up here- without the buildings to offer her shelter, the winds were free to ruffle her feathers back and forth without care. She didn't let the chill get her down though- after hanging out with Jack and discovering that ninety percent of anything the winds did was just to mess with people, she couldn't help but chuckle at their antics.

Now, then- where to find Jack? According to the spirit himself, he spent this time of year bringing snow to every, last place he could manage in an attempt to make as many Christmases as white as possible. Not that this helped her much- she knew for a fact he hardly ever stuck to any form of schedule, and was very, very, easily side tracked by pretty much anything promising a good laugh. Jack himself hardly ever knew where he was going next so realistically she had next to no chance of finding without flying random across the globe and crossing her fingers, but she had a secret weapon. Baby tooth (they'd all accepted Jack's little pet name for the little fairy, and she wore the name proudly).

Ever since Easter, she'd appointed herself as Jack's second in command- something the winter spirit actually went along with, so now she was officially Jack's left hand lady (left because apparently, the wind kicked up a storm if she wasn't his "right hand" lady). Baby Tooth had tabs on Jack's location almost every time you asked her for it- if anyone knew where he was, it was she. Whistling for another set of fairies, she scanned them for Baby Tooth, but when she was nowhere to be seen amongst them, she asked if they knew where she was. They all jumped slightly- jerkily avoiding her eyes as she got a myriad of replies. She's busy. We don't know. She's on duty. She's gone looking for Jack. That last one got a few loud hushes.

"She's busy." One of them repeated, to which they all nodded vigorously, grinning a little too broadly at her. Tooth frowned slightly- what was that all about?

"Um, okay… Well, if you see her, could you tell her I'm looking for Jack?" She requested. Another collective twitch went through them and with a couple of rushed "uh huh", "yeah", "sure" and "got it"s, they left. Leaving behind a puzzled Tooth wondering at their odd behaviour. Baby Tooth wasn't in any trouble was she? No, she was a good little fairy (even if a certain someone did have a bit of a bad influence on her occasionally), and besides, she'd be able to tell if she was in any real danger.

She shook her head and decided to leave them to it, zipping off around the world. She could cover a lot of ground herself, she'd probably bump into the winter spirit at some point- even without Baby Tooth's help.

North was nearing the end of his rounds when she started to panic.

She still hadn't seen any sign of Jack. She'd even been to visit Jamie, remembering Jack's fondness for his first believer, but he only told her the same thing she knew: last he heard, Jack was spreading snow around the world. But she'd been around the world, and he wasn't there! She hadn't even seen anything to indicate she was on the right track- there wasn't a trace of him anywhere! The frost patterns were all soft and settled, just like the snow. None of it was fresh.

She'd asked all the other Guardians when they last saw him, but with not very reliable responses. North said he wasn't sure- he'd only caught glimpses of him now and then, but he couldn't recall any recent sightings of the spirit. Tooth wasn't too worried about that- the Christmas rush made North oblivious to everything else. Sandy also reported that he'd couldn't exactly remember the last time he saw him, but she reassured herself that Sandy usually struggled to tell time with the eternal night he travelled in- even if he was certain it had to have been at good few nights, or maybe even weeks, ago. Bunny gave her she sharpest answer of all. The Easter Guardian said he hadn't been bothered by the trickster for at least two weeks- something that was beginning to trouble him as well as her. Tooth herself wasn't sure when she last saw him, but if she had to guess… she'd say it would've had to have been around about two weeks ago.

She was definitely concerned now. For all the times she told herself Jack could handle himself, she also reminded herself of his unfortunate habit for getting himself into ridiculous amounts of trouble. But when she really started worrying was when she remembered the peculiar behaviour of her fairies…

The way they'd flinched when she'd mentioned she was looking for Jack, the confusion as to Baby Tooth's whereabouts… even if she knew for a fact that the little fairy was safe, there was something not right about her sudden disappearance. The way they'd flinched… Suppose Baby Tooth was also searching for the winter spirit. But then why would he need finding? And shouldn't Baby Tooth had found him by now? A chill struck her bones that had nothing to do with the wind. It sounded all too likely. It was exactly the kind of thing Baby Tooth would do. Set herself on a search and rescue mission for the winter spirit to find him before the others found out and worried. Well she was worried now.

How long had Baby Tooth been out there? How long had she been searching? When did she notice Jack's absence? If she couldn't find him, did that mean he was-? She didn't want to finish the thought, but she couldn't deny it anymore. It had been two weeks since any of them had heard from Jack… Missing. He was missing.

It hit her suddenly like a ton of bricks. It had been two weeks! How could any of them have not noticed he was missing?! But Baby Tooth had- and now she was missing too.

Tooth zipped up into the sky. She had to find him. When the winds were so strong she could barely keep herself upright she cried out as loud as she could. Desperately beseeching the winds to tell her if they knew where he was. Hoping and praying against impossible hope that somehow they would answer. That she would somehow be able to get something legible out of them- like he would. Nothing but the continued, incessant howling around her. Was she getting an answer? Were they trying to speak to her? Or did they not understand her at all? She didn't know! She couldn't speak wind! Never had she wished more desperately that Jack was here with her- with the exception perhaps of last Easter.

She'd been so happy to see him- Jamie might've been the last light, but Jack was their last hope at defending him. Yet, even after everything- despite everything he'd done for them- they couldn't even notice when he was gone.

She enrolled Bunny and Sandy on the hunt for the winter spirit, but hours later, still neither of them had found anything. She'd circled the earth a hundred times in the time they'd been searching, and still not caught a glimpse of him. She didn't dare interrupt North- they needed this holiday to be a success after the fiasco at Easter. But the more time passed, the more she promised herself she was enlisting his help the moment he was finished. She hated to bother him on his most exhausting most exhausting night of the year- especially so soon after the he got back, but they needed all the help they could searching for Jack.

All of them were searching for their boy- and none of them were stopping until they found him safe and sound again.

It wouldn't be until many hours later, right in the middle of Christmas Day, they would find something. Tooth was gazing out of the sleigh on tenth excursion around the North Pole, when she took a second glance at a slight abnormality in the snow. A tiny, sprawled out figure lying face down in the snow.

Unconscious.

To be continued.


	12. Chapter 12

A Hollow Christmas- for soinherownhead- cont.

 **Authors note: okay so I almost didn't post this today but I couldn't help myself XD here's the rest of the story^^ the others are all oneshots so this is the last and only double whammy you'll get this year^^ see you tommorow! Please let me know what you think, it really makes me happy to hear from you guys**

They'd been searching for so long she almost didn't get her hopes up. But then she saw a slight ripple of fabric that looked like a hood.

"Jack!" She yelled. North's immediate jolt on the reigns sending her tumbling into a downwards spiral off the sleigh, but she didn't care- she'd caught herself within a second, and was tearing towards his motionless figure in the next. "Jack!" She screamed, praying for some sort of response… She couldn't see any. Travelling so fast she half crashed into the foot-deep snow by his side, she almost didn't touch him for the fear of hurting him.

"Jack… Jack wake up." She whispered, trembling on the edge of hysteria as she fought back hot, stinging tears in her eyes. "Jack..!" She tried again, summoning as much of her voice as she could- shaking him as hard as she dared. She heard a slight, mumbling groan and gasped. "Jack?" She whispered. Before shaking him again with renewed urgency. "Jack- wake up! Please!" She begged, as he shifted with another slight groan. He was almost there! He was almost there-!

The sleigh crashed next to them in a train wreck North was so desperate to check up on the boy. The sleigh hadn't even stopped before his two giant feet crashed into the snow nearby, and approached them. North never had been one for subtlety.

"JACK! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! HOLD ON MY BOY WE'RE GOING TO GET YOU SOME HELP! DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES! STAY AWAY FROM THE LIGHT!" He pulled out his magically enhanced radio, and yelled into it with just as much volume. "BUNNY- WE'VE FOUND HIM! BRING SANDY AND COME QUICK STAY WITH US! JACK! STAY AWAKE-!"

"North, cutit- owww. Would you stop with the shaking?" North froze- stunned, for once, into complete silence, as he lowered the irritated (though still somehow bleary eyed spirit) back towards the ground.

"I'm up- I'm up." He murmured in a half-asleep stupor, managing a tired squint up at North, who stared back. Was he alright? "Who's idea was it to give me that wakeup call? Was it the Kangaroo? It was the Kangaroo wasn't it." He decided. He sounded fine- if a little rough from just waking up. Tooth and North both ignored his questions, as North delicately set him down on the ground- watching him stretched and yawn like nothing had even happening.

"…Jack… What happened? Where were you? No one's seen you for two weeks- we've been worried sick!... What happened to you?" Tooth began delicately, the easy with which he'd come back to consciousness making her a little wary of his mental state. Jack frowned slightly in the middle of mussing up his bedhead.

"I was spreading snow around the world- what else would I doing?" He pointed out. Tooth looked at him, dumbfounded as silence enveloped the North Pole- thankfully, or perhaps unthankfully, they were spared from the awkward silence by a hysteric rabbit arriving on the scene- soon followed by Sandy.

"North, I got the message! Where is he? Is he alright? Aw shoot, I left my first aid kit back at the Warren! Hold on, I'll go get it! Do I need the emergency? Specialist? Accident? Do I just bring everything at on-?" A sand ball to the head knocked him clean out for a few seconds- so he could come to his senses and actually use his eyes before jumping to insane conclusions this time.

"…Frostbite?" He muttered in a disbelieving daze, as he looked the not dead, not horrificly injured and not passed out on the floor winter spirit up and down (then up again, just to make sure). "…You're alright?" He muttered, half confused half relieved.

"Would you rather I be lying on the ground left for dead?" Jack queried. Bad answer after everything Bunny had just been through. That sarcastic little-! Twenty four hours he'd been worried sick about that kid, and that was the response he got?!

"Now listen listen here you little-!" He just about reigned himself in from saying something he might regret. "I've been running across the globe for five hours straight looking for you- WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?! Do you have any idea what you put us through?!" He demanded, Jack looking taken aback with the outburst without a single clue how to respond. His usual response was a joke or something annoying, but something told him that wouldn't cut it. What did you do when someone was worried over you? He couldn't even remember. The only times he had to put up with something similar was with the wind, and even then all it took was a half bothered "sorry" and she let it go (she'd just gotten used to it at this point). He guessed sorry wasn't a bad start though.

"I'm sorry." He muttered. "I really was just spreading snow around and I just.. passed out up here at the pole." He muttered, trying for that apologetic, guilty look kids gave their parents when they misbehaved- but he never had been very good with apologies, and he'd be lying if he said it didn't feel perhaps a little bit too good to know they'd been looking for him.

"'JUST passed out?!'" Tooth yelled. Bunny's outburst reminding her of her own terrified anger. "I just saw you there lying in the snow! I didn't know what to think! You could've been hurt! You could've-!" She stopped herself, and stared him down sternly. "What do you have to say for yourself?" She demanded. He bit his lip- should he venture out into a joke? Well what's the worst that could happen?

"Guy can't take a nap with his snow blanket in peace?" He ventured.

Tooth had not been expecting that- she was completely thrown off by the unexpected joke.

"Snow blanket?" Bunny repeated, fighting the smirk spreading across his face. "Is that really the best you could come up with?" He queried, the battle to stop himself smirking failing.

"What?" Jack grinned, deeming himself suitably off the hook enough to relax a little bit. "Its soft, cold- what more could an ice spirit ask for?" He shrugged, about to make some other passing humorous comment, when he found himself pulled into a gentle hug.

"I'm just glad you're okay." Tooth murmured into his hoodie, refusing to let her relieved tears spill- she didn't want him to see. He froze for a stunned moment- he was still a little new to this whole hug thing, but he was getting used to it. He let his smile soften as he returned the calm embrace.

It only lasted a few moments, but a few moments was all she needed- just to compose herself, and remind herself he was okay. Jack smiled at her as she let go, but before he could say a single word, some kind of golden cane dragged him down, and he suddenly found himself stuck face to face with an angry sandman. One golden hand holding him by the neck hoodie, the other drawing a tight line against Sandy's neck in a very clear message of what he'd do if the trickster ever worried them like that again. Jack gulped- if there was one thing he'd learn over last Easter it's that you never- ever- messed with the Sandman. He nodded back with the most serious face he could managed. Sandy must've deemed the threat satisfactory, because he finally let him go. He breathed out a breath of relief, and immediately wished he hadn't. He heard North's larger than life laugh before he saw him coming- which was strange; you'd think you'd notice a giant, red Santa Claus coming up to you, ready to lift you onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, but, no such luck.

The next thing he knew he was crushed under North's hands, regretting having let go of that that air that would've been great now. Soon after, he found himself bouncing off North's shoulder like a damsel in distress. Okay, so maybe deserved it- that did not mean he was just going to accept the piggy back ride quietly. He hated being reminded of the fact that he was in fact the kid of the group- and it especially irked him that North could pick him up in a single hand without even breaking a sweat. He was so mad, in fact, he almost didn't notice the way in which they were heading.

"Wait!" He called out, effectively halting their rescue party. "I've left my staff." He informed them. They all paused as they debated whether or not he was messing with them, because he usually never let that thing out of his sight.

"Are you serious mate?" Bunny complained.

"Hey, it's not like I can throw it away and it'll just keep coming back." He pointed out. Bunny sighed, grumbling under his breath as they all turned back to the place they found him.

"Maybe you should've invested in boomerangs then." Jack just rolled his eyes, finally getting set down as they cast their eyes about for his staff. Except there seemed to be one problem.

"Where the bloody 'ell is it?" Bunny muttered. The length of twisted bark was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey!" Jack called over. "Do you think it could be down here?" He asked, all of them walking over to examine what appeared to be some kind of huge icy pit- or possibly a ravine. They squinted down it, trying to see if there was anything resembling a staff lying at the bottom, but it was way too dark to see anything.

"Can you guys see anything?" Tooth muttered, hovering at their shoulders.

"Is just a lot of black." North informed her.

"Of course it had to bloody well end up here." Bunny muttered, none of them noticing that Jack had slowly stepped away from the edge, kicking up a long, wooden stick from where it'd been quickly buried under snow.

"Come on Bunny, it wasn't his fault. Is there anyway we could get down there?" Tooth wondered, Jack squared up, side on, behind them, levelling his staff at their rears.

And here comes Frosty, lining up to take his first shot. He commentated to himself.

"Well unless you have a ladder on you." Bunny retorted sarcastically.

He takes a practise swing, he thought, swinging his staff back, before levelling it in front of him once more.

"Are you sure you can't climb down?" Tooth queried.

"Woah woah woah- I'm not going down there! There's no telling how deep this thing goes! Why don't you go down-…"

A second swing, and he's finally to take the shot… Sandy glanced back to see a very obviously not stuck down a hole staff slowly swinging away from them. He jumped- desperately waving to get the other Guardian's attention.

"Not now Sandy." North dismissed, deep in thought over the puzzle before them.

He takes his position… makes the swing, and…. Four!

The wind swung low and fast- sweeping forwards with his staff towards the already leaning Guardians-knocking them all clean over into pit. Everyone's arms flailing wildly as they toppled helplessly into the giant pit- Sandy folding his arms across his chest in annoyance.

Except that they didn't all fall to their deaths. They didn't fall for very long at all. Each of them landed into four little icy ruts that slid and crisscrossed deep underground like a giant rollercoaster. A extreme adrenaline junkie's course looping North straight over Bunny's toned down kids ride of a chute. Tooth kept shooting in and out of view as she was carried back and forth at speeds approaching those of her world travelling flight, as Sandy bounced around from track to track flying around them all like a little golden pinball- and there, behind them, skating atop the chutes like some kind of arctic version of Tarzan, came Jack. If they didn't know any better, they'd say this whole thing had been planned for weeks.

Between Bunny's incessant wailing, North's booming enthusiasm and the echoing qualities of the walls around them, it was a pretty loud ride- and, for some, it ended as suddenly as it started. Sandy flying straight into a snowdrift, as North ploughed into one about ten times bigger. Tooth's threw her high into the air, allowing her to catch herself in mid-air, followed by Jack as he backflipped his way into the underground area. Bunny? He slowly scooted his way to a stop as the chute trailed out at the other Guardian's feet. Jack had to bite his lip to stop himself laughing- to compensate for the lack of tricks he added in a few extra spirals. Perhaps a few too many- Bunny's eyes were still spinning.

"That is it Frostbite!" He roared, turning to point at him and pointing at the wall. "That is the last time you watch Ice Age" He punished, trying again and this time managing to land his pointing finger at the winter spirit… mostly.

"That was brilliant!" North declared, exploding out of his snowdrift, nearly knocking out Sandy who was pointing a golden arrow back up the way they came in way of saying "Again! Again! Again!" Jack chuckled as he addressed them all.

"Alright, so I may not have been entirely truthful earlier." He admitted. "I wasn't just spreading snow across the world." Come on, I do that every year, he thought, but he decided it would be cooler if he left that bit out. "I know, I know, lying's bad and all that, but the thing is…" He said, leaning back against the closest wall with a trademark smirk. "I am top of the naughty list." He quipped, the wall behind him slowly groaning as it creaked open under his weight.

The secret door opened up to reveal a huge, open hall made from what looked like the hollowed out inside of a giant glacier! But the towering space was by no means empty. A cacophony of noise rose up, as the final arrivals to the surprise party finally walked in. Hundreds upon hundreds of yetis warbling out a "Merry Christmas" to the Guardians, as a thousand chirping fairies did the same from up above- even the many elves that scattered across the floor shook their bells in excitement at their arrival.

Jack casually strolled in like the mountain he'd converting into a giant dining hall was nothing impressive- greeting a few of the yetis, and casually inquiring about the cooking effort. A couple of fairies zipping down from the roof to give him a shy "hello", as Baby Tooth proudly informed him that everything was running smoothly. He thanked her, rubbing a gentle finger behind her crest as the Guardians stumbled in, practically tripping over their gaping jaws.

Thousands of little snowflake tables glittered, suspended, above their heads in three rounded sections- even as they watched, fairies zipped from table to table, busily chirping to each other as they caught up with the latest gossip. The yetis all boisterously crowded the flat topped, rocky ice boulders that covered the floor, babbling loudly and happily across the tables, some of them waving in the barely moving Guardians. The elves just did whatever they pleased- it looked like they were meant to be waiters, but, true to form, they'd forgotten their job and started roaming about under everyone's feet in search of the food that hadn't been served yet.

A sharp whistle finally stopped the Guardians gaping as they followed the sound to see Jack standing next to the centre table, pulling out a chair in an overly obvious gesture. They'd spent all Christmas so far wondering if they'd even see a Christmas with the winter spirit, and then he only went and trumped everything they had planned with an indoor glacier full of their friends and partners. He really had gone over and beyond.

A couple of minutes later and the winter spirit was happier than he'd been in three hundred years. He just sat and watched Tooth's face grow wider with shock for every passing second Baby Tooth told her about the everything she and Jack had done to get this place ready- and she left nothing unmentioned. She told her about the two solid weeks he'd spent carving out the mountain and creating the all the tables both floor and floating from scratch, kicking the elves out of the kitchen, organising the fairy rotation system (with three sections of waiting, eating and on call all being used to make sure the fairies got just as much fun out of the holiday as they did, stopping a bit of impromptu yeti karaoke and subsequently rationing the eggnog, not to mention all the stories that had come out of Jack's involvement in the cooking effort.

For the first time in three weeks, Jack was relaxed- and sat there watching Tooth's torn looks from Baby Tooth to him as she struggled to know who to gape in astonishment at, that alone made everything worth it. The bags under his eyes, the stress, burns from hot pans, and grey hairs (he maintained he must've gone even whiter), it had been worth all of it for this one happy moment. For the first time, he felt like he really understood Christmas. For all its mad rush, with the presents, the toys, the decorations and the dinner- this right here was what it was it was really all about. Sitting there with the people that really mattered, just having a great time together.

He took in everything, not watched to miss a single detail: the yetis chugging ridiculous amounts of eggnog, the elves tripping over each other as much as everyone else was, the fairies whizzing back and forth overhead taking orders to and from the kitchen that would soon be bringing out the starters. A group of them had gotten their tiny hands on some mistletoe, causing chaos the moment they floated towards the yetis. He watched Baby Tooth telling Tooth about the many failed cooking attempts that occurred in the months he'd been teaching himself to cook in order to help with the Christmas dinner- North trying to put a hat onto Bunny's head, despite his insistence that his ears would rip it- and Sandy flying off his stool as he pulled a cracker with the wrong yeti.

He noticed it all as the wind swirled around letting out a consent sigh… and he smiled, suddenly finding a stray snowflake seemed to have found its way into his eye.

So this was Christmas.


	13. Chapter 13

The Haddock Family, Plus Dragons- for Kelsey Alicia

 **Authors Note: Okay so this story was the most challenging to write but I did have a lot of fun writing all the baby dragons (BABY DRAGONS!) Hope you guys enjoy it^^**

There were those that said it was insane to have a dragon in the house. Hiccup laughed loudly at them, because for this Snoggletog, he was having no less than sixteen dragons sharing the festive season with his and his family. Things had been crazy enough with everybody's personal dragons last year, but with Cloudjumper and Soulwings being on hand in case things got too out of control, they'd managed pretty well. Stardust and Nightrainbow were on their best behaviour- Toothless of course, loyal as ever, had stayed by Hiccup's side for the entire meal (mostly because the Viking was more likely to succumb to his puppy dog stare than the others). Things were great last year- a little crazy, but at least they could say there was never a dull moment.

This year, things promised to be interesting: the number of dragons in their house had more than doubled, and honestly? Hiccup wasn't sure there was much he could do without it being somewhat of a train wreck. How do you deal with the offspring of the offspring of lightning and death itself when even said father seemed have given up trying to tell them what to do- letting them hang all over him like a big set of wriggling, Night Fury armour. Moonshadow could sometimes work wonders with the rabble of kids (sometimes), but as the mother of ten crazy baby Night Furies, they'd decided to let her get an well deserved rest this Snoggletog, and taken up babysitting them for the day. Why Hiccup had ever thought it would a good idea to try and look after ten baby Night Furies on Snoggletog of all days, when he was the one organising most of the family feast and gathering, he had no idea- and he was beginning to regret it.

Boden and Stoick were due from the spirit realm any moment now, and the table was a shambles, the food was all yet to even begin cooking, and he was pretty sure there was a nosy baby dragon in every nook and cranny you could possibly think of. No sooner had he pried down one of the youngsters that had got stuck at the top of the archway entrance to the feasting area, was Toothless crooning to tell him there was another two up there. It was impossible to get anything done! Valka was out waiting Stoick and Boden's arrival, and he did not want them turning up to a war zone.

"Can't you do anything?" Hiccup implored Toothless as he spun on the spot, trying to keep track of the one kid that thought it would be a great idea to keep dancing round his legs. Toothless gave a him a huffy grunt that quite clearly said 'I'm already a living chew toy for five of them, what more do you want?'

"I know, I know." He sighed. "It's just… Look at this!" He told him, gesturing out to the overrun pavilion. "I think the god's halls with Thor and Loki in the same room have be less chaotic than this!" Toothless called his attention to a nearby patch of wild lilacs that had been one of the main reasons he'd chosen this spot for the family gathering. The black dragon purred at them meaningfully.

"No, Toothless, I can't call Una- this is part of her surprise." He explained. Toothless rolled his eyes and flumped his head onto the ground- clearly saying that if he wasn't going to take his advice, he wasn't going to give any. A little, scaly blur promptly took the opportunity to climb all over the overrun dragon's face.

Hiccup sighed as he attempted to tame the madness once again.

"Alright, let's do this again." He muttered. "Gray!" He cried out, pointing to the kid crawling halfway up the archway. The little dragon next to him lifted his silver dipped ears up, and tilted his head at him. Oh, he thought it was Gray climbing up there again. Then who was it? It wasn't Hope, she had a blue tint to her black scales. Erm… Great, he couldn't see their eyes- it could be anyone now! Well, at least he knew it wasn't Sari- there was no little indigo crescent over their heart, and Black he was pretty sure was darker than that. "Eerrr, Luna?" He tried. The silver eyed Night Fury looked up from her examination of the tabletop. Nope, not her. Then perhaps… "Selena?" He attempted. "Lucelia?" Jade eyes looked over from the patch of grass she was stalking, as teal eyes looked up from their rest of Toothless' head. Oh great, of course it was one of the boys. "Firethorn?" He tried, getting desperate by this point. Bright red eyes looked up from Toothless' gummed up tail- chew toy still clutched in his fangfree mouth. Hiccup sighed. Who was he missing now? He always forgot this one… ah! "Majestic?" He queried. Finally, the baby slinking up the arch looked at him- the black crescent moon now clearly visible on his forehead.

Hiccup sighed.

"Get down from there!" He yelled, as forcefully as he could, but it came out a little exasperated. Luckily, the little dragon obeyed and leapt down from the post- stubby, little wings doing almost nothing to slow the fall, but he landed comfortably on his four feet anyway. Hiccup sighed- was there dragon he didn't mention before he got the right one? He tripped, going flying over the little baby that had finally pushed his luck too close to his feet. He opened his eyes to see a curious pair of golden, sparky Night Fury ones meet his own- warm snout nuzzling him to see if he was okay. He sighed. Lightning.

Boden landed perfectly next to Stoick, his breathtakingly beautiful Silver Phantom just about beating the Regal onto Berk's cliffs. He smiled, patting his dragon's neck.

"Good girl Stardust." He praised, as he watched Stoick dismount next to him, thanking Soulwings on the way down. Boden stayed atop his dragon's shoulders for a while, searching for the familiar face that said she'd meet them here. It didn't take long for him to spot her running out to meet them, Cloudjumper walking majestically behind her. He smiled warmly, finally dismounted to greet his mother. By the time his feet had reached the ground she'd already pulled Stoick into a tight, tender embrace, Boden standing awkwardly to one side as he let them have their moment. They muttered a few gentle things to each other, but he turned a blind ear to give them a little privacy.

Then with that leftover smile still on her face (the one that only Stoick could bring about), Valka finally turned to her youngest son and wrapped him in a big bear hug, pulling him back a while later to look at his face.

"I swear you look more like your brother everyday." She told him- only half joking. "It's a good job you wear your hair differently, otherwise I might struggle to tell you apart." She chuckled, and this time she was joking- she'd always be able to tell her boys apart no matter what, though it would be interesting to see Hiccup with a ponytail like Boden's. She could scarcely imagine a time without them- Boden and his sister. It seemed odd to think that they wouldn't have been a part of their family- despite the fact that they should've been- and they were now so… She shook her head- she never could wrap her head around that confusing, timey/spacey stuff- she left that up to her brainy boys.

"It's good to see you again, Mum." He smiled. "Happy Snoggletog." Valka blinked for a moment before she chuckled at her slippery memory. She'd been so distracted with their arrival, she'd almost forgotten the reason why they came!

"Happy Snoggletog." She repeated.

"Boden! Daddy Stoick!" They heard the voice before they saw the descending dragon- and they didn't even need to look up to see who was riding on it's back. Lilac dipped, choppy hair flying wildly in the wind, practically jumping off the Singer's back, was Una.

The little girl tackling them both with the biggest hug her little arms could manage, as her dragon ruffled it's magnificently coloured scales, cooing happily behind her. The Aroua Boriouals Singer crooning an enthusiastic greeting to his fellow scaled friends.

"Una?" Valka frowned in confusion. "I thought you were meant to be helping Hiccup?" She remembered.

"I was." She promised. "But then he said it was going to be a surprise, and told me to go and play with Nightrainbow for a while. Isn't that right boy?" She told them all. The dragon cooned in agreement. "Well then, I guess we better go and give him a hand." Valka smiled. Stoick rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh come on Val- this is our Hiccup we're talking about. He could settle the halls of the gods if he wanted to."

He was wrong.

They reached the lilac dotted plateau, and it looked like a storm had hit. The archway was singed, the table was toppled, and little dragons ran riot everywhere. Hiccup jumped to attention as he saw their arrival.

"Mom?! Hey, Mom, and Dad… Boden, and Una, and… dragons." He finished lamely, his suit a little blackened and scratched from breaking up a little play scuffle that'd turned a little rougher than he would've liked. Toothless rumbled a heavy greeting, with no less than three of his kids hanging off his head.

"How did ten little baby dragons manage to topple that big stone table?" Valka wondered. Hiccup glared at Toothless.

"Well, somebody, got the wrong idea when told him to help." Toothless grumbled at the comment. The archway then took that precise moment to crash and burn behind them. A dozen pairs of dragons watching as it slowly toppled and fell toward the sea, Hiccup cringing into himself a little bit more every time it bounced.

"…Happy Snoggletog?" He offered with a smile that more wince than actual smile. Valka shook her head in typical motherly fashion, as she walked forwards to brush the soot and dust off his suit. Una chuckled at her daft older brother as she trotted forwards to do the same. Boden rolling his eyes with a smile, ruffling a miniature dust cloud off Hiccup's hair before he went in for a big brother hug. Una quickly joined in with an indignant "hey!"- forced her arms around them both. Valka smiled and joined in, resting her head against her three special children, as Stoick came up from behind and lifted them all up into his great big, monster embrace. All of them struggled to break free for air, but none of them managed to break free until he released them.

They heard a slight rumbling behind them, and noticed that while they'd been locked in their hug, the dragons had gone about resetting the table and getting the kids under control- even Moonshadow had finally woken from her nap and come down from her cave to keep her little monsters under control. Toothless finally got released from baby duty, letting out a relieved huff as Firethorn finally let go of his tail. Hiccup sighed. It was so much easier with family.

"Come on boys, I'm sure there'll be some spare grub in the Great Hall we can bring up." Stoick grinned, clapping a hand on both of their shoulders, before Hiccup protested.

"Wait a minute- what about the food I brought up earlier?" Everyone froze in confusion.

"The dragons didn't get it?" Valka questioned, she assumed that would've been the first thing the kids demolished. Hiccup smirked slightly.

"I do have one or two tricks up my sleeve you know." He told them, walking over to a pile of bushes that the dragons wouldn't even get close to, and pulled out a couple of heavy, covered cooking pots filled with wild meat, berries and wholesome vegetables grown straight from the village. They watched in amazement as he brushed off a dozen eels from each pot- even the baskets filled to the brim with nothing but fish had managed to escape from the dragons untouched- all because of that one clever trick.

"Now that's a brilliant idea." Boden praised, lending him a hand in bringing out some of the bigger fish baskets.

"Of course it is." Una said, boastfully. "Big brother Hiccup always has the best ideas." She announced, as she struggled with one of the cooking pots, before Valka came to lend her a hand.

"Right then." She smiled. "Let's get this Snoggletog feast under way." She smiled, setting all the raw pots of vegetables and meat together on a big patch of charred grass.

Hiccup rubbed his hands together as they finally finished.

"Toothless? Wanna do the honours?" He offered, the tired dragon perking up at the request. He walked over to the collection of pots, side by side with Moonshadow with his little rabble of monsters running round their feet. He roared up at the sky, and Hiccup was pretty sure he was saying "HAPPY SNOGGLETOG!"

With that, he shot a burning hot, heated blast of plasma at the pots, soon followed by a blast of Moonshadow's own plasma, and a miniture shower of tiny, little plasma blasts. Soulwings and Stardust lit up the pots with fierce fire blasts of their own, accompanied by Nightrainbow and Cloudjumper.

Hiccup raised an arm up to his eyes at the ferocity of the flames, as he settled himself next to Toothless. He'd barely been seated two seconds when the beautiful humming sound of Nightrainbow's voice rose up into a song. Stoick bowed formally to Valka as he offered her a dance. Boden didn't even have a choice- Una had swept him up into a giddy jig before he could say anything. Hiccup realised he shouldn't get too comfy- it would only be a matter of time before Una dragged him up for a dance.

He watched the dragon's firing alternate blasts of flames at the soon to be cooked feast, and chuckled. Well, they might be mad for looking after sixteen dragon, but they could say one thing, at least: they were never short on firepower.


	14. Chapter 14

A Guardian's Christmas for LunarCatNinja, Island-Girl97 and Lyrasloon

 **Authors note: hey guys! Okay, one pressie, three people, let me explain. These guys replied to my message but couldn't decide what they wanted- rather than miss them out entirely I decided to give them this collective, shared fanfic. Hopefully you all like it- I will be thoroughly surprised if anyone knows where I got theme inspiration from but enough rambling XD ooh- last thing- the last (and my personal favourite) story is getting posted tommorow!**

 **Personal Messages:**

 **LunarCatNinja- thank you SO much for being such an awesome and consistent reviewer!**

 **Island-Girl97- God Jul! (I hope that's right XD)**

 **Lyrasloon- it's not Httyd but it is comedy so I hope you like it^^**

Things couldn't be more crazy at the North Pole. It was the time they worked towards all year. Christmas Eve.

You had to watch where you stood- hundreds of elves randomly scattered everywhere, and the yetis hurried hither and thither, as they struggled to meet their upcoming deadline. The air was bustling with yetis shouting, machinery and elf bells. The big man himself was right at the heart of it.

North was confident they'd meet the deadline- they always thought they'd be late and they never were- but something bothered him. Since they'd had the big fiasco with Pitch earlier that year, they'd had to put all hands on deck to finish the presents in time, and, despite their best efforts, the place wasn't looking nearly as Christmassy as it should. Luckily be hed thought of a solution.

Even as the yetis pushed and shoved each other out of the way to fill the sleigh, Tooth and her mini fairies were busy hanging up extra bunting, and he'd recently appointed Sandy as the top ornament placer. Unfortunately, Jack was elsewhere, spreading as much snow across the world as possible. North was ok with that- he knew that the most magical Christmases were the white ones. It wasn't Jack that was causing his uneasiness, it was the other guardian.

Bunnymund wasn't doing anything wrong- North was just a little touchy about having him do anything to help for Christmas. It was his thing, like Easter was Bunny's, and with the constant bickering between the two, they usually kept to their own holidays. But it was no good, he needed all help he could get.  
"WOA! Hey, watch where yer goin'! Ya nearly took my ears off!" An austalian accented voice drifted in from the thick crowd.  
"Speaking of devil." North muttered.  
"Bunny! Come on, up on sleigh out of way." He reached out, and hauled the rabbit onto the one place you didn't need ten pairs of eyes to watch everything around you. Seeing the nervous look on his friend's face, he laughed, and added.  
"Don't worry. Is nowhere near ready for take off." Bunny still eyed the sleigh nervously and North shook his head- you just couldn't win with some people.  
"So what do you want me to do, North?" Bunny asked.

North had thought about that, he really didn't want to give this task to Bunny, but, as Tooth pointed out, her and her fairies were better suited to sorting out the hanging decorations- and he wouldn't trust Bunny with the delicate, ancient ornaments- so he really had no choice.

He cleared his throat.  
"Well, er, I... ahm, want you to... ah..." Bunny raised a curious eyebrow, as he struggled to get the words out. "I-want-you-to-decorate-christmas-trees." He burst out, all in one. Bunny was surprised, he was expecting to get some stupid job, like sweeping the floors. Decorating the trees was a big deal, to North, so Bunny was rather shocked he'd entrusted it to him. North immediately busied himself with checking the reins, even though he'd already done that five minutes ago.  
"I'll have Phil take you over- Phil! Sort Bunny out with tree decorating stuff." He yelled. The yeti looked as amazed as Bunny did, and led him away to a much quieter room.

He pulled out a large roll of paper out of a cupboard, and handed it to Bunny. on the back was a message:  
"This is a map of the pole. The trees are marked with green crosses. They are already out, all you have to do is decorate. The decoration boxes and remote controls are beside each tree."  
"Ok, simple enough." Bunny thought. "No idea what the remotes are for, but I guess I'll figure it out."

He unrolled the map, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head.  
"Jeez! There's like a hundred of these things!" Phil garbled something- luckily, Bunny knew enough basic yeti to understand. "Only 86! Oh that's alright, then! For a moment there, I thought I'd struggle." He said, sarcastically. "Well, better get a move on." He grumbled to himself, resigned to a long night of tree decorating, as Phil hurried off to continue helping with the sleigh effort. He decided he'd start with the lower floors.

The hours wiled away, and it wasn't nearly as bad as Bunny thought. Half the trees were small table top ones that only took ten to fifteen minutes each- though he still had no idea what North meant by remote controls. He hadn't seen anything that looked remotely like a remote.

After a few hours-at some point during which, North probably set off on his round the world delivery trip- he worked his way to the top floor, where the majority of the trees were placed. He managed to get most of the floor done within the following three to four hours.

It was now the early hours of the morning and all he needed to do was the tree in the globe room. He was feeling pretty proud of himself- he might even have some spare time before North came... back.

He walked in, to finding himself stared at, possibly, the biggest tree he'd ever seen. The tallest branch nearly touched the ceiling of the giant, open room. Bunny's shoulders sagged. This was going to take forever- and how on earth was he supposed to reach the top branches! He sighed, he might as well get started- perhaps he'd think of something to reach the top. He went over to the decorations box. This one was considerably larger than the other ones he'd seen, and- hold on!

There, on top, was unmistakably, a remote control. It looked like the kind of thing North made for toy cars, with an up/down and left/right toggle. But what was this supposed to do.

He experimented, pulling the first lever down. A great whirring filled the air, as the entire tree tilted towards him.  
"What the!" He thought. He pushed the lever upwards- it tilted upright again. Seriously?! Trust North to make an electric tree. But at least he stood a chance at decorating it now- even if it would still take forever.

As he walked round the giant tree, hanging various assorted baubles and toys on its branches, he spotted Sandy asleep on a nearby sofa. The little man had finished the ornaments, and had gone into a kind of deep sleep to make sure all the kids were asleep when North arrived. Bunny had no idea how it worked, so he left him to his slumber, and continued with his work.

He had no idea how much time passed, when he'd finally finished.

He breathed a sigh of relief, and went to move the empty box out of the way. Except it wasn't empty- he'd forgotten the star. He groaned and slammed a paw against his head.

Right, where was that darned remote? Hold on... where was it?! He was sure he'd put it somewhere around here- or did he have it over on the the other side... He ran round the globe room, muttering to himself.  
"Where is it? Where is that blasted- ah, there it is." He sighed and picked it up, flicking the switch down. Nothing happened.

He released it, and pushed it down again and again. Still nothing. He bashed it with a fist. That didn't do anything.

Typical, he thought, the one time I really need the thing, to get to the top, it breaks. How was he going to get the topper on now? He groaned, quietly. He guessed he'd have to do this the old fashioned way. Seizing one of the lower branches, he pulled himself up, and began to climb...

Stupid North with his... stupid Christmas, stupid trees with their, stupid remotes that... stupid broke down on you, so you had to stupid climb... up the stupid tall, stupid tree, to get the stupid star on top. He grumbled in his head.

He finally reached the top, and placed the star on the highest branch. He tried not to look down, he'd never been great with heights, then he realised he'd have to look down to find the nearest foothold. As he searched, a soft click caught his attention.

A familiar white haired boy was stood with the remote, replacing the battery he'd taken out earlier, and reattatching the outer casing with a satisfying snap. Bunny was sure he felt something lurch beneath him.

A really, really, not good smirk spread across the winter spirits face as he held up the complete remote, and looked up at his victim to be.  
"Aw no." Bunny was shocked into action- he had to get off this thing, right now!

Too late.

With a soft crunching, ice appeared and wrapped itself around the top of the tree and his wrists. He struggled, but he was stuck fast.

"Frostbite... don't you dare..." He yanked at his hands, frantically. "Put that thing down. Don't touch it. Do not-" the world started revolving "Frostbite!" He yelled. "Stop it. Stop the spinning! Stop! I mean it." He suddenly lurched backwards. "AHH- stop it! Let me go, Frost! Don't you dar-" The tree started revolving again, and everything turned upside down. "Whoa! That's it! You are dead! You are dead meat when I get off this thing! You hear me! I am so gonna-". It suddenly stopped spinning, and started bucking up and down like a rodeo bull. "Fros-... Frostbite! I AM GONNA KILL YOU!" He called Jack something he never would have said in front of Tooth, and than his yelling was caught short, as he spun upside down again, and was forced to hold onto his carrots.

It carried on like that for goodness knows how long. Jack looked like he was almost biting his tongue off, trying to hold back his laughter- why, he'd discover later.

Eventually though, after a good long torturing, he got tired of the twisting, bucking, rodeo rabbit, and left him there- stuck to the top of the tree.

Some time later, Tooth came flying in.  
"Bunny. Bunny? Are you in here?" She called, cheerfully. She'd almost flown to the next room, when a voice stopped her dead.  
"Tooth." Bunny said, quietly. "Too-o-oth!" He whimpered, a manly pleading whimper. When she finally got over the shock of him stuck in a tree, she flew up to him.  
"Bunny?! What are you-." Then she saw his ice chains. "Oh... don't worry, I'll get you free." She grabbed hold of it, and pulled, in an attempt to break it off the tree. It didn't work.

She tried to readjust her grip, but they didn't move- her hands were stuck. She tugged at them again- hopelessly stuck.

She must have mentally called in a few fairies, because, soon, a couple of them came flying in. They too flung themselves at the ice in an attempt to free the guardians- and got stuck.

Soon the ice was no longer visible beneath the blurry mass of wings and feathers.

Finally, Tooth managed to stop one of them, before it attached itself to the ice, and sent it after North, who had recently returned from his rounds.  
"Hey, what is big deal? With all your twittering and..." He spotted the two stuck guardians, and the dozens of fairies that covered their hands. He muttered something in Russian. "What happened?" Tooth blushed.  
"Long story." She stated. North promptly reached up, and yanked them off with a single hand.

The ice shattering as it hit the floor, freeing its prisoners. They rubbed their hands and wrists, all smarting from the cold.

Sandy, who had somehow stayed asleep during all the earlier commotion, finally woke up, and stared, confusedly, at the scene in front of him.  
"Oh, and great help you were oh mighty and powerful Sandman." Bunnymund snapped- he was clearly not a happy bunny.  
"So what happened?" North repeated.  
"Frost." Bunny growled. "I swear, when I get my hands on him, he's going to sorry."

North remembered the last time he'd seen the boy. He'd asked for his Christmas present early, and North had obliged- owing to the fact he probably wouldn't see him again until Boxing Day, with all the snow he'd be spreading. A worrying suspicion appeared in his mind-  
"Oh..." He muttered, quietly.  
"What?" Bunny asked, irritably.

He didn't want to tell him. If his suspicion was correct, it would be a long time before any of them saw the boy again-he'd probably be lying low in some hidden ice cave, somewhere; because shortly before hed set off on his journey, North had given the boy-.

A sudden burst of static distracted him from the thought, as one of the screens he'd set up across the pole buzzed into life.

-a camera, North finished.

As the screen came to life, it showed the image of a large, grey rabbit, glaring down at the cameraman from the top of a humungous Christmas tree. Looking across the room, North could see a similar screen playing the exact same thing. He had no doubt that, right now, the recording was being viewed by every single yeti, elf and fairy in the pole.

Bunny stiffened, as the film played. Loud yeti laughter came from the other room. North himself was fighting like mad to keep his own laughter down, but he completely lost it when the tree started bucking like a rodeo bull.

Moments later, North was deafening the whole room with his laughs; Tooth was struggling to stay in the air she was so overcome with giggles; and Sandy had collapsed on the floor in fits of silent laughter.

Then, with a shout so loud, North felt sure Jack must have been able to hear it in what ever hidey hole he was in. Bunny yelled.

"FROOOST!"


	15. Chapter 15

Dragon for Christmas- for Kevin4baconhugs

 **Authors note: hey guys! So this is it! The last story of this year^^ It came it as a late request and I really want to thank kevin4bacon for requesting it because it really helped me get a bit of my spark back^^ I had so much fun writing it so I hope you enjoy reading it :-) but that's all for now- I guess I'll see you guys with my next story, but for now- MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!**

"Toothless!" Hiccup shouted ahead- earning more than a few odd looks at the unusual nickname, but ignoring them all. As far as he was concerned, when the easiest pronunciation of your name translated it to 'Hiccup', anything had to improvement- and besides, the way in which they'd given the kid his little nickname was too special to ignore.

They'd signed the adoption papers long in advance of actually taking him home, but he had not been prepared for the sheer weight and magic of the moment in which he first held his first son. Hiccup had tried to say something, barely managed to work his voice at all.

"Look at him…" He'd started, unable to keep eyes from the spellbinding sleeping form in his arms. "…Our little, toothless…" and then he'd trailed off, unable to finish. The magic stealing the words from his mouth so easily he forgot he was even speaking in the first place. But Jack had noticed, and he had not been willing to let that little moment go- so, from that moment on (long after he got his first set of tiny chompers), he was affectionately known as "our little Toothless".

"Toothless! Come on, bud- you're gonna get lost!" The brunette called out, his white-haired companion snowed under a mountain of carrier bags and Christmas presents trying to keep up behind him. The kid, deliberately oblivious to his calls, carried on tottering ahead, black beanie pulled down tight over his just as black tufts of hair. Hiccup growled quietly.

"Thomas Niall Fury! You get back here right now!" He demanded, bringing out both his middle names and his real name to make sure he knew he was serious. The toddler hadn't managed to fully escape the hereditary odd name of his younger father's family, but he'd managed to get away with it being a middle name at least (since no one could be bothered pronouncing the original, however, they almost always derived it as "Fury").

The kid's head darted up at his almost full name, and he came trundling back- emerald green eyes looking up at him with the puppy dog guilt that sometimes won over the brunette's stricter side. It worked this time- he let him off with a stern glare, and a huff.

"Hand." He said firmly, reaching out as the hyperactive young boy's fingers grasp his father's and swung them around. The two finally slowing to give the lagging, bag laden whitehead some semblance of a break, the brunette running through a mental list of what they were up to.

"Okay, we got something for mom, dad, everything set for food- and Gobber, can't forget him. Have we forgotten anything else?" He chunnered under his breath, squinting gaze going straight past all the overhead decorations as he searched his memory for any last little thing they might've forgotten in their mad Christmas rush. Juggling Christmas food, presents, decorations, cards, wrapping and a kid all at once was more than a little bit demanding, and yet he'd somehow managed to stay relatively on top of it all.

"Well… We've not been to see Santa yet."

The white haired grinned, his sly glance at Toothless not going to waste. His little emerald eyes lit up and went as wide as baubles at the thought of meeting the one and only Santa Claus. Jack grinned- he knew this particular Santa, and the kid would not be disappointed; he really was the perfect St Nick. The tiny toddler started bouncing on his father's arm like a bungee cord.

"Can we go and see Santa?! Can we? Can we!" He pleaded. Jack could see the brunette's resolve wavering at the hopeful sparkle in the kid's eyes and turned to deliver the final blow, putting on a pleading pout of his own.

"Can we?" The whitehead repeated, giving him that oh so lovable little smirk he had trademarked just for him. A crack of a smile broke the brunette's stubborn composure.

"Alright." He agreed. "Let's go see Santa." He smiled.

Both Jack and Toothless faces lit up like kids in candy shops- Toothless at the prospect of meeting Santa, Jack at the prospect of meeting an old friend. Before they could stop him, Toothless had slipped his slippery fingers out of Hiccup's hand and stormed off again in delight.

"Toothless!" Hiccup shouted- miraculously managing to bring the toddler to a halt before he went out of sight. He looking back at them with impatient, innocent eyes. Hiccup sighed.

"Right, we're doing a swap- you keep a better hold of him than I do." He informed, holding out a hand for the masses of overflowing carrier bags spilling out from the blue eyed's hands.

"No, I'm fine." The white haired brushed off- clearly reshifting the increasingly uncomfortable bag handles for the twentieth time in the last half hour. Hiccup rolled his eyes- so even using Toothless as an excuse wasn't going to stop him from being an over considerate idiot.

"Fine, but you're giving me some of those bags so you can help keep that little whirlwind under control." He compromised, giving the white haired no room for budging as he forcibly relieved him of half of his load. Jeez! This was weighing him down already- how had he carried double this for the past hour and not said anything?! He huffed- always with the compromising with this guy. He'd freeze solid outside before he complained of the cold if it meant Toothless staying happier a little longer- and didn't he know it (he'd insisted it wasn't hyperthermia, but Google said otherwise). He always had to make things complicated- if he hadn't offered to take everything, the whitehead wouldn't have dropped any of his load onto the brunette at all.

He rolled his eyes at the everyday occurrence, silently pleased with the ease at which he negotiated with the whitehead- they really were getting to be like an old married couple weren't they? But then, what did he expect after so many years getting to know each other? He sometimes thought that they probably understood each other better than they did themselves. Who would've thought it eh? He mused to himself. The homeless street rat, and the friendless nerd- no one could've guessed they'd one day pledge I do. But, then again, it didn't always seem like it'd be that way.

It started small, with a chance meeting. A wild haired hooligan that'd been raised by the streets for as long as he could remember jumping in to rescue a skinny teen from a beating- curtesy of a group of musclebound jerks that couldn't tell a plus from a minus. He'd later learned that the white-haired teen really couldn't stand that kind of people, but, nevertheless, he'd been moved by the gesture. Yet, despite the spontaneous occurrence of the meeting, it hadn't been their last. The skinny brunette often bumped into the widely roaming whitehead in future weeks, surprising each other with the ease and comfort they found in each other's company. Over time they'd grown to be friends, then to becoming best friends- and then even onto something more. Neither of them had seen it coming, but neither of them cared. If they hadn't fallen for each other, they would've never ended up where they were now.

Jack seemed to have started a wordless competition with Toothless to see who could swing their arms the wildest. Hiccup shook his head as he debated with himself who was getting more competitive with the daft contest- the toddler or the "grown man". He was such a child, he thought, using the word as a term of endearment.

"So what do you think?" The whitehead asked, grinning down at the skipping boy. "Are you on the naughty or nice list this year?" He finished, watching as the kid cocked his head and thought.

"Mmm… The nice list." He decided. Hiccup gave a "thoughtful" hum.

"I don't know- good boys do as they're told, and don't run off in busy places." He mused. A guilty little 'uh oh' look appeared on Toothless' face.

"Well, I guess there's only one way to find out huh?" Jack grinned, playing along. They stopped. Toothless looked up at them confused. Jack deliberately looking from Toothless to the space behind him and back again. The toddler's emerald green eyes followed his glance- all the way up to Santa's grotto and the queue snaking out from it. The kid had been so lost in his own little world he hadn't even noticed them walk right up to it.

Suddenly, the jumping and tugging on the snow-haired's arm increased tenfold, as Toothless' excitement went into overload. Words lost in his giddy glee, he could only plead his wish to his dads with his big, excitable eyes. Jack pretended it wasn't up to him and looked straight at the brunette. Hiccup stretched out the expectant silence a little bit, before he finally put the kid out of his misery.

"Alright, go and get in the line. Me and dad are going to be right here when you're finished, okay?" He told him. It was something they'd agreed a long time ago- Jack was "dad" (the better to moan when he was being annoying), and Hiccup was "daddy" (the better to beg when he wanted something). If possible the look on Toothless' face lit up even brighter, and he wrapped both his fathers in a last, little, baby bear hug, before running off to join the other kids- a quiet clicking following him as he ran.

Hiccup sighed as both of them simultaneously slumped and dropped their load. This was as good a place as any to rest and, while some parents took Santa's grotto as an opportunity to sneak some last minute presents past their children, they were way ahead of the game, and were more than happy to just watch. A subtle click sounded as Hiccup shifted his weight into a more comfortable position- not unlike the chorus of horse-steps that had followed Toothless into the queue. Jack sent him a questioning glance and he nodded- he was fine, but he ready for a good lie down when they got back home.

There was a comfortable silence for a while, before Jack leaned in.

"How much would you kill me if I found a way on top of Santa's grotto?" He wondered, a light tease mixed with a drop of serious in his unusual unique blend.

"I think we both know you've already found a way, and I would kill you if you tried it." Hiccup shot down, perfectly polite in tone but with a warning glare that put tigers to shame. Jack said nothing but the growing smirk as he attempted to side step into the crowd did not escape the brunette's keen eyes. Hiccup grasped a firm hold of his arm, snapped him right back to his side before the old parkour master could go rogue on him. As he glared at him, he suddenly realised he'd brought them almost nose to nose- and noticed then the smug little grin of satisfaction on his face. The sneaky little-. He was really proud of himself for coming up with that little ploy wasn't he? But two were playing this game. He let the mood soften, and tilted his head slightly.

"Was that on purpose?" He play mused, allowing himself a slight smirk as saw Jack lean in closer.

"Mm… Let's say that it was. What then?" He challenged. The brunette let him come closer, and closer… the gap between them shrinking even more until… Hiccup casually turned to smile and wave at Toothless, who was waving wildly at the two of them. A few seconds later, Hiccup snuck a glance at his partner. He was pouting silently at a wall in disappointment. Hiccup shook his head slightly- he was such a drama queen he thought, planting a little pity peck on his cheek. Better? He thought, amusement dancing in his eyes as he watched the tiny little gesture perk the white head right back up again.

He didn't say anything more, but neither of them really had to- they knew what they were thinking anyway. They didn't even notice their comfortably entwined hands, nor did they bother to move them, it just felt natural. They simply stood together, watching Toothless' little black beanie travel along the queue to Santa.

"So what do think he'll ask Santa for?" Jack queried.

"Hmmm..." Hiccup thought. "I think he might go for one of the art kits I've seen him handing out." He decided. His logic was faultless as always- the kid was quite the budding artist- but he didn't quite have that little insider's spark that came with Jack's inner child.

"Really?" He grinned. "I think he's gonna go straight for the big one." He told him. Hiccup quirked an eyebrow at him. "You think so?" He queried, wondering at his reasoning behind it but knowing he'd only get an infuriating wink if he asked.

"Only one way to find out." He noticed, watching Toothless step up to be a mere two places from the front of the queue. Luckily, the grotto was in a quiet enough corner that they could just about hear Santa's conversations with the kids that sat on his knee if they listened carefully, so they'd be able to hear his answer. Jack passed the time by watching the child after child's face light up as they raced up to meet Santa- smiling at the awe on in their eyes, absolutely dazzled by North's perfectly portrayal of Christmas' main man.

He'd known North, for many years. Out of sheer kindness, in the true spirit of the season, he'd given him a present every year, regardless of his years. At first, it had been as a result of his open, outdoor home, but then it had grown into a tradition for the two of them- in fact, with a kid of his own this time, this was probably going to be first time he didn't get a gift from the old man- but that was fine, he considered Toothless a more than worthy heir of the tradition. His real name wasn't North of course, but the guy still refused to give him a real name, even after all these years, not wanting to ruin the magic of Santa's grotto. Thus, one year when the unfortunate placement of a sign labelled him as "North", as opposed to living at the "North Pole," he'd made the name stick. He couldn't be sure if his old friend spotted him already or not, but it sure felt good seeing him again.

In what felt like no time at all, Toothless was dashing his way up to the big chair to sit with the big man himself. He tripped on his up, but he took it like a champ and bounced right back up again. Hiccup rolled his eyes- he kept telling him to be careful with his leg when he was excited, but did he listen? Nope. Only when it suited him.

He swiftly recovered and sat himself proudly on Santa's lap, just like the many other kids before him- staring, starry-eyed, at the beaming Santa, with his twinkly eyes and real life beard.

"Hello. What your name?" He asked, a slight chuckle in his voice from watching the youngster take a tumble.

"My name's Toothless." He declared proudly- boastful as always of his unique little nickname. Santa raised his eyebrows in polite surprise.

"Toothless." He repeated "That's a special name." He praised. Toothless beamed at the comment. "And that's quite the special little leg you've got there too." He noticed, with a warm smile. Toothless nodded his head happily as he showed off his plastic stump extension.

"Uh huh." He agreed, pointing up at the watching brunette. "Just like daddy." He grinned, happy with the little connection he and his dad shared with their fake, mechanical legs. Hiccup blushed slightly at being singled out as offered up a shy wave- nudging Jack none too gently in the side when he started laughing at his embarrassment. North chuckled at the two's easy chemistry.

"Ahh, so I see." He smiled, noting the familiar whitehead and the brunette's false stump that, surely enough, mirrored the child's own. "That makes you very special indeed." He told the eagerly staring child as he repositioned him more centrally onto his knee.

"Now then." He asked, getting straight to the question he knew the kid was burning to answer. "What do you want for Christmas?" He queried kindly. Toothless' wide eyes grew even wider as he opened his mouth, ready to declare his ultimate gift-! Only to be cut off by one of Santa's elves. "Would you like a mother?" She asked, with a sickeningly sainted smile.

Toothless blinked, and frowned in confusion. Hiccup just closed his eyes as he heard it- he was used to this kind of thing by now, but Jack on the other hand… Hiccup looked at him meaningfully, running a thumb along his tightly curled hand. She was lucky he wasn't some kind of ice basilisk or else his glare would've killed her stone-cold dead. It took a harsher than usual nudge from Hiccup for him to snap out of it, and even then he only abated slightly. It was bad enough when Hiccup got any kind of grief over their relationship, he thought, but bringing Toothless into it was entirely uncalled for. They might be used to the hate, but it didn't make him any less protective of those he cared about- and they certainly had seen a lot of it- even from the brunette's own family. Things were much better now, but the first time they found out… It hadn't gone well.

Hiccup had been questioned on his frequent visits onto the streets to visit his secret lover (because he refused to let Jack jump onto his roof every night like a creepy, teenage Batman), when his dad wormed the truth out of him. Their relationship had come out, and so had he. His family more or less kicked him out- forcing him to live on the streets. But there, at least, he could be with the one person who would never abandon him and never left his side no matter what- and more than anything, it really proved their devotion to each other. Those long weeks had cemented their relationship, proving to the sceptical father, and concerned mother, they had no doubts about who they were in love with. They were serious about each other. It had still been a long road to acceptance, and, despite it being more than worth it to get their blessing at the wedding, it had been difficult and painful for the both of them. They definitely didn't want their son experiencing anything of the sort.

"Why would I want one of them?" Toothless surprised them all with his simple response to the question, head tilted curiously in innocent confusion. Jack's scowl lessoned as he turned his attention to Toothless. North did the same.

"Now why do you say that?" He asked him kindly, with a deliberate look at his colleague. Toothless gave him the sweetest look, like he didn't understand why the question was supposed to be a hard one.

"Because I've got two daddies." He announced, fearlessly. "I don't need a mummy." He chuckled, dismissing the thought. He didn't need a mum- he was perfectly happy as he is. North chuckled happily at his carefree answer. He couldn't have said it better himself. His eyes twinkled as he watched the father's melt into each other. Their little boy defending his daddies without even knowing it.

"She's just jealous your taken." Hiccup muttered to his much happier husband. Without even hesitating, he responded in a heartbeat.

"Jealous you're taken." Jack retorted, returning his gentle nudge. He noticed Toothless waving at them again, and returned the gesture- none too subtly raising his ringed hand as he did so. The woman scowled, face darkening with shame as she skulked out of their sight. Good riddance, Jack thought as he turned his attention back to Toothless, putting her out of his mind.

"So what do you want for Christmas?" North repeated, turning back to the original question. Toothless stuck his chest out and puffed himself up as he announced.

"I want to be a dragon."

North smiled- surprised at the odd response, but charmed nevertheless.

"Oh really? Most people do that for Halloween." He pointed out, getting more and more intrigued by this curious child- he never quite knew what he'd say next.

"Halloween is for scary things." Toothless reminded him, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Dragons are awesome! They fly like-" he whooshed a few sound effects as he flapped his arms "-and they breathe fire like-" he accidently spat all over Santa Claus as he did the best explosion sounds he could manage. Jack sneaked a look at Hiccup as he watched. He knew the kid's passion for winged, scaly reptiles was in no small part due to a certain brunette's secret obsession with them.

"A dragon, huh? Well isn't that exciting." Santa chuckled, giving his beard a quick brush as he hoped the kid didn't have any more enthusiastic sound effects to show him.

"Uhuh!" He agreed. "Just like the one under my bed. I thought it was a monster until daddy said it was a dragon- daddy says it looks after me when I sleep, but he's so fast that I can't see it! But I know its there, because he fights my nightmares away." He explained, thoroughly enjoying telling Santa all about his secret bedtime friend.

"Well, well, well, how do I bring you this present?" Santa wondered, putting a hand to his beard in apparent deep thought. "I don't have any magic fairy dust on me- I lent it all to the Tooth Fairy last week." At the mention of the other legendary figure, Toothless' little mouth dropped open.

"But…" Santa continued. "I think I might have just the thing." He told him, leaning forwards to whisper something into one of his elf assistant's ears (thankfully not the one who'd caused a scene earlier- she'd wisely stayed well away from the main grotto since).

Barely a minute later, the elf came running back with what looked like a set of cat ears, but as Jack and Hiccup watched he bent and stretched the fabric ears behind his back before he presented them to Santa. They didn't look much like cat ears anymore. In fact, you could almost get away with saying they look like…

"Dragon ears." North informed, letting the kid take in the full, glorious view of his brand new ears before he reached forwards to gently slide them onto his head. Toothless' mouth couldn't have dropped any further if he'd tried- he wasn't going to take them off for a week. He reached up to delicately feel the brand new fuzzy additions to his head wow, a Cheshire cat grin spreading all the way across his cheeks as he giggled and ran off. Desperate to show his dad's his brand new present.

"Toothless- what do you say?" Hiccup reminded him before he said another word. Toothless froze.

"THANK YOU!" He yelled back loudly, jumping up and down to make sure Santa saw his giant wave, and giddy dancing with joy when he waved in response.

Jack shared once last smile with North- saying, without words, everything he wanted to say to him over the past year, as reacquainting himself with the hand destroying carrier bags. He winced- they couldn't get back to the car soon enough.

"Saves you having to sew some ears on." He muttered discreetly to Hiccup. The brunette looked at him in wide eyed warning, as he indicated Toothless beside him, but he needn't have worried, he was still babbling on about his recent encounter with Santa. Somewhere, buried amongst the array bags they were carrying was a plain, little, black onesie. All Hiccup had to do was to add the tail and a few bumpy spikes on the back- a couple of little paws, and a hood for his face- and they were all set to make Toothless' Christmas dream come true.

The happy thought almost came crashing down around him as his eagle eyes sniped out the woman who'd made that sly comment from earlier. Hiccup smartly steered them in the opposite direction.

"Don't say anything." Hiccup muttered under his breath, and Jack looked away, not trusting himself to even look at her, lest he do something stupid. She wasn't worth it, he reminded himself. She wasn't worth his time- and she definitely wasn't worth Toothless'.

He shifted his carrier bags so that the hand next to Hiccup's was free. Hiccup read his mind and did the same. Toothless, still in seventh heaven from his new dragon ears, eagerly squeezed himself between them, grabbing both of their hands tightly as he skipped forwards- ignoring the occasional skid and jump of his fake leg that wasn't made for quite such vigorous movement. He didn't let it slow him down, though.

"You know." Jack said, grabbing his attention as he looked down his arm at the suddenly attentive kid. "You did get that present from Santa… Do you think it could be magic?" He wondered, his face grow wide in awe at the possibility, prompting the same response from Toothless. Hiccup sent him an amused, but slightly confused, glance- where was he going with this? "Why don't try something? Why don't you… close your eyes…" He started, giving Toothless a second to do so. "Wish with all your heart, and think of flying…" He continued, watching Toothless' face squint up in concentration, as he sent Hiccup a psychic message. The brunette nodded, finally realised what was going on. "…Aaaand… Jump!"

Toothless leapt for the sky as hard as his little legs could push him. Right on cue, both his daddies swung his suspended arms, and flung him forwards as, for a moment… he flew. Swinging out in front of them- squealing with reckless delight at the weightless thrill of the miniature flight.

"Again! Again!" He was pleading, before his feet had even touched the ground again. The two happily obliged, swinging their arms back once again as they built up for another little trip through the air. It took another four leaps before Toothless was satisfied- and even then they had to stop because Hiccup was tired (the combined weight of carrier bags and an energetic little boy proving too much). At some point, they'd left the shopping centre and crossed into the car park, searching for their parking space as they chatted excitably about Toothless new present. He was ecstatic about it, but what he didn't know was that in some of the bags, right there under his nose, was a ridiculous mound of cotton wool- ready for attaching all around the spare room as the perfect cloud playground for a budding young dragon; and with two daddies ready to fly him through it at a moment's notice, he was going to be one spoiled little dragon. Hiccup and Jack couldn't wait to see to his little face when he saw it- but, for now, it was time to head home for a nice hot chocolate and a long lie down with a good movie.

Hiccup let out a long huff as he finally dropped all the bags onto the floor- Jack mimicking him. They reached the silent that Jack would entertain Toothless whilst Hiccup loaded the car, so no sooner had Jack emptied his hands of the carrier bags had he filled them with his little toddler, and deposited him carefully on his shoulders. The toddler immediately grabbed on to the strings of his hoodie, steering his ride around the quiet car park in suspiciously aeroplane-like circles. Hiccup shook his head as he watched. How many kids did he look after again? He thought to himself, checking his pockets and bag again for the keys. He knew he'd put somewhere, but couldn't seem to find-. A sudden familiar clacking jiggle caught his ears- and he looked across the car park to see some familiar keys dangling from Jack's nimble, pickpocketing fingers. Looks like some street habits died hard.

Hiccup scowled- he knew there was only one way this was playing out which would result in him getting the keys, and it was not going to be easy. Toothless snatched for the keys, to which Jack happily obliged- letting the kid gang up with him on the only mature member of their little family.

How many kids did he have to look after? Hiccup reminded himself.

Two.


End file.
